Law enforcement officials are currently engaged in a search operation for convicted prisoner, Jose Awad, who escaped from the Lusignan Prison, East Coast Demerara on Tuesday after he was left unsupervised while performing labour duties.
According to the Guyana Prison Service (GPS), the incident occurred at around 13:00h as the inmate was labouring at the snackette in the compound of the Cecil Kilkenny Training School.
Awad of Redlock Lima Sand, Essequibo Coast, Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) was serving two years jail term for breaking and entering and simple larceny.
On Tuesday, the prison service said that the man was left unsupervised for a short period of time when he made good his escape. Several search teams are in different areas in an effort to recapture the inmate.
Director of Prisons, Nicklon Elliot, has since made an appeal to members of the public, relatives, and friends to give any relevant information about the whereabouts of the escapee, so that he can be captured and returned to the prison.
An appeal was also made to the escapee to surrender himself to the police or relevant authority, to avoid any serious confrontation that is likely to result in the use of force.
All information, the prison service said, will be treated with a high degree of confidence and also the rights of the escapee will be respected and upheld.
Anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of Jose Awad is asked to contact the Officer-in-Charge at Lusignan Prison or the nearest police station.
The prison service also stated that the supervising officer would be placed under close arrest while the prison service and the police force conducted their investigation.
Just three months ago, two prisoners, Keon Webster and Kareem Douglas, escaped from police custody just before reaching Lusignan Prison. Both were handcuffed together but managed to flee when the officers opened the van door.
The escapees ran towards the public road, Webster still wearing a handcuff on his left hand. Despite a chase, they disappeared into the prison farm. Authorities launched a search with a joint task force, and Webster was recaptured days later at the Stabroek Market, Georgetown. However, Douglas remains on the run.
Investigations later led to the officers who were transporting them to be placed under close arrest. This incident follows the recent escape of Akeem Wong, serving time for rape, from Mazaruni Prison in Region Seven. He had a history of criminal activities, including association with unsavory characters and prior charges for robbery and murder.
He was shot dead by police at Groete Creek Backdam, Essequibo River in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) after he gruesomely chopped to death David and Elizabeth Gomes on March 8 at their Saxacalli home.
Wong reportedly approached the Gomes residence seeking food and directions but later murdered the duo and took some of their valuables. (G9)
