Mazaruni prison escapees spotted in Bartica

…father admits to helping convicted son, other convicts
…confesses to giving them change of clothing

The father of one of the four inmates who escaped from the Mazaruni Prison earlier this week has confessed to helping his son and the three other convicts after they broke out of the high-security jailhouse.

On Tuesday, 25-year-old Imran Ramsaywack of Adelphi Village, East Canje Berbice; 44-year-old Kenrick Lyte, whose last known address was Grant Good Intent, Lower Pomeroon River; 22-year-old Samuel Gouveia of Goedverwagting, East Coast Demerara; and 22-year-old Rayon Jones of Timehri, East Bank Demerara (EBD) broke out of solitary confinement and escaped from the Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) penitentiary.
In a statement on Thursday, the Guyana Police Force said the father of 22-year-old Jones, Ralph Jones, was further interrogated as part on ongoing investigations by the GPF and the Joint Services, during which he made the disclosure.
The elderly Jones told investigators that after escaping from the Mazaruni Prison, his son contacted him by telephone sometime after 21:00h on Tuesday and informed of his actions.
“Ralph Jones further admitted that sometime after 01:00 hour the following day, all four of the escapees showed up at his house, where he provided each of them with a change of clothing. He, in turn, collected the clothes that they were wearing and dumped them in an alleyway aback his house in Fourth Avenue Bartica [Region Seven],” the Police stated.
According to the missive, Police investigators on Thursday went to the location mentioned by the father, where they found a white salt bag that contained a number of items suspected to be belongings of the escapees.
These include: clothing, footwear, deodorant, topes, pillow and pillow-cases, along with a bottle of Red Star rub, a toothbrush and a food bowl.
Nevertheless, the Joint Services are continuing the search for the escapees, and encourage all law-abiding citizens to report to the nearest Police station or call 455-2238, 455-2222, 455-2241, 226-4585, 225-2700, 225-3650 or 911, should they be seen. The Police assure that all information will be treated with strict confidence.
On Wednesday, Director of Prisons (ag) Nicklon Elliot told Guyana Times that the prison officers who were on duty on Tuesday when four high-profile convicts escaped were being questioned by the Police.
“Officers who…worked the night period, they are all assisting with the investigation at the moment,” he noted.
Asked whether there is any suspicion of collusion between the officers on duty and the escaped prisoners, the Prison Director posited that this will be determined by the probe.
“Currently, the matter is being investigated by the Police and the prisons…we’ll have to wait until the investigation determines if there was collusion, and what level of collusion there were [if any at all],” Elliot contended.
Meanwhile, the Prison Director had noted that the search for the four escapees is still continuing; the Joint Services and patrol teams are following several leads.
Elliot confirmed that the authorities had received information that the prisoners might have stolen a boat from a nearby village to aid in their escape. A team was dispatched to the location to investigate.
This newspaper understands that the boat owner was questioned for failing to report that the vessel was missing, but was subsequently released. Guyana Times understands that the boat owner’s relative was killed by one of the escapees.
Ramsaywack and Lyte were on death row, while Gouveia and Jones were convicted for manslaughter.
The four prisoners made their escape from the maximum-security prison at about 07:00h on Tuesday.
Police have since issued wanted bulletins for the men, who will now face “escaping from lawful custody” charges.
The Guyana Prison Service had explained that at about 07:15hrs on Tuesday, during the unlocking of the Brick Prison (Solitary Division) supervised by the duty officer and four other ranks, it was observed that the padlock to the entrance gate was tampered with, and further checks revealed that two bars within the cell had been cut.
Nevertheless, the Guyana Police Force, in its efforts to recapture the inmates, is appealing to members of the public, relatives and friends to give any relevant information as to the whereabouts of these escapees, so that they can be captured and returned to the prison.
Also, an appeal is being made to the escapees to surrender to the Police or relevant authority to avoid any serious confrontation that is likely to result in the use of force. (G8)