16-year-old recaptured by Police after escaping custody

…claims beaten, forced to give statement admitting criminality

The 16-year-old youth who found himself in hot water after Police ranks had discovered a firearm at his residence, escaped from the Cove and John Police Station on Sunday morning, only to be recaptured a few hours later.
The young man had taken the opportunity to bolt from lawful custody when he was using the washroom. However, after making his way to Georgetown, and then to Sophia where he resides, his mother turned him over to Crime Chief Paul Williams and ‘C’ Division Commander Edmond Cooper by informing them that her son was in the area.

According to Police reports, the young man had requested to go to the washroom, and was escorted there by a Police rank. After approximately 10 minutes, ranks became suspicious at the length of time he was taking to use the washroom. It was then that another officer observed the youth climbing over a fence. The officer tried to pull him down, but was kicked to his chest. The officer raised an alarm, which alerted the rank that had escorted the young man to the washroom, but when the other ranks arrived, the youth had already escaped.
On the other hand, the youth had a different tale to tell.
In a video posted on social media, the young man recalled that he was asking to use the washroom since the night before, but was prevented from doing so.
He related that after noticing that a different officer had assumed duty in the morning, he decided to ask again, and was allowed out of his holding cell. Under the watchful eye of a rank, he proceeded to the washroom facilities and observed that there was a loose board in the bathroom area. In a split second, he had made his way through the opening, and was unsuccessfully stopped by the Police officer.
In an interview prior to his arrest, the teenager vehemently denied any involvement in the crimes, stating that the accusations against him were false. The juvenile also claimed that he was coerced by Police to give his statement, noting that a threat was made to his life. “The gun that they find in the house down there, I don’t really be over there. But they try to claim is this man I get it from, this man they carry me by, that that’s the man I does rent it from. That’s what they make I say, and they make me mother sign it,” he stated. “Them tell me if I ain’t seh that, they gon kill me,” he added.
When questioned about the stolen cell phone that was discovered in his possession, the youth claimed, “The cell phone there, I buy it from a young man not too long ago, before the Police come by me, for one thousand dollars.”
In a surprising twist, the young man also admitted that he was involved in a previous gun crime, but stated that that was the only occasion in which he had done something to that extent.
The juvenile’s arrest came on the heels of a discovery made by ranks of ‘C’ Division (East Coast Demerara) at a Sophia house.
On Thursday evening, 34-year-old Abinda Accra, a painter of ‘C’ Field, Sophia, was robbed of his cellular phone and cash while in the Sophia area. The man reported the robbery to the Police, stating that the perpetrator was a teenager. Operating on intelligence, Police ranks swooped down on the home of this 16-year-old and found a .32 special revolver. During the interrogation, the youth disclosed that he had rented the firearm from another man in the area. That man’s house was searched, and an additional .32 special revolver was found along with a .40 pistol and a total of 10 live rounds.
They are now both in Police custody.