One day after escaping from the Lusignan Prison on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD), 23-year-old Leroy Graham was recaptured by Police on Thursday evening.
The inmate, who was on remand for armed robbery, escaped from the penitentiary around 01:30h on Wednesday by scaling the southern fence. Authorities had suspected he was heading for the backlands.
Recaptured escapee Leroy Graham
When contacted on Thursday evening, Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels confirmed that Graham had been recaptured.
“I was just informed by the Police that he was recaptured in a shack in Buxton. He is currently en route to the prison,” Samuels told Guyana Times.
The Police, in a subsequent statement, disclosed that Graham was recaptured around 19:15h.
“Police ranks from Regional Division 4C, acting upon information received in relation to Leroy Graham, who had escaped from the Lusignan Prison… proceeded to a shack where the fugitive was the lone occupant at the time. He was arrested, taken to Vigilance Police Station and later handed over to the Guyana Prisons Service,” the police said.
Graham, whose last known address is Middle Walk, Buxton, ECD, was sent to the prison on August 20, 2020.
The Prisons Director had explained on Wednesday that Graham broke out of a section of the Lusignan Prison that had been burnt during recent unrest at the facility. He was being housed there for “safety” reasons.
The Lusignan Prison continues to remain a high-risk area, given its overcrowding and the recent shooting and killing of two prisoners following unrest at the facility. Five inmates were injured during the unrest.
Those killed were 51-year-old Earl Graham, who was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment for malicious wounding, assault and resisting arrest, and 21-year-old Winston Herbert, who was in custody for rape.
The situation escalated after two prisoners initially tested positive for the deadly coronavirus. A total of 140 prisoners from the facility later tested positive for the virus.
Post-mortems conducted on the bodies of the deceased inmates found that both men died as a result of shock and haemorrhage due to gunshot wounds to the chest.
Meanwhile, officials have assured that measures have been ramped up to keep the facility safe and secured.
