Sophia man sentenced to six months after escape from custody

– creates chaotic scene in court

A 21-year-old man from B Field Squatting Area Sophia, Greater Georgetown, who escaped from police custody while receiving medical attention, was sentenced to six months in prison following a dramatic and chaotic court appearance at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
Brian Stephens, who was wanted for armed robbery, appeared before Magistrate Annette Singh, where he faced charges for escaping lawful custody while being treated for gunshot wounds.
According to police reports, on February 28, Stephens was involved in an altercation with another wanted man at an event, when he was shot. He was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) for medical treatment. However, while receiving treatment, police recognised him as a wanted suspect for armed robbery and placed him under guard.

Despite being under police watch, Stephens managed to escape on March 8, after requesting to use the washroom. When officers went to check on him, he was gone. A search was launched, and he was later recaptured.
Stephens’ court appearance was marked by continuous interruptions, emotional outbursts, and confrontations with both the Magistrate and police officers. From the start of the proceedings, he frequently raised his hand, spoke out of turn, and loudly protested his innocence. At one point, he begged the Magistrate for bail, claiming:

“Ma’am, I am the only breadwinner for my family. I am asking for a small bail.”
He pleaded not guilty to the charge of escaping lawful custody but later changed his plea to guilty.
As the case continued, Stephens became more agitated, waving his hands and speaking over the Magistrate and police officers. He suddenly stood up and began removing his clothes in the courtroom, pulling down his pants and lifting his shirt to show bullet wounds on his thighs and about his body.
“Ma’am, I got shot three times and robbed. The police shoot me!” he shouted, as officers tried to calm him down.
Stephens also turned his frustration toward the police, accusing an officer in the courtroom of killing a man he knew.
His outbursts continued as he accused police officers of robbing and shooting him before his arrest. When an officer denied these claims, Stephens interrupted again, declaring that he only escaped because his child’s mother had called him, saying their child was sick and had no milk.
“My child mother is not working, and she called me to tell me my child sick and got no milk. I had to go get money and buy milk for my child, so I left. But I turn me self back in,” he claimed.
However, police officers refuted this, stating that he did not voluntarily surrender but had to be recaptured.
Given Stephen’s repeated involvement in violent incidents, Magistrate Singh remarked that he appeared to be a person who was frequently getting shot. She noted that she would “find a place to put him” for protection purposes, before sentencing him to six months in prison.
Upon hearing his sentence, Stephens smirked, shrugged, and responded: “No problem. Me ain’t frightened to go to jail. Y’all think y’all can sink me, I ain’t got to get no lawyer… watch, y’all know who is me, I am a mastermind.”
However, as he was being escorted out of the courtroom, his defiance turned into violent threats as he turned toward the officers involved in his case and threatened to kill them.
Stephens remains under active investigation for the armed robbery case.