Six months for Berbice man for escaping custody

A New Amsterdam resident was yesterday sentenced to six months in prison by the Chief Magistrate, after he admitted to fleeing police custody when he was apprehended for drug possession.

Troy Leacock, 30, of New Amsterdam, yesterday stood before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan who read a charge to him which stated that on July 20, 2015, at Kwakwani Park, Berbice River, while being escorted to the Kwakwani Police Station on a charge of having a quantity of drugs in his possession for trafficking, he escaped custody. The accused pleaded guilty to the charge.

According to Police Prosecutor Arwin Moore, on the day in question, a group of police carried out a raid at a camp site where they saw the accused. Moore said that during the search the police found what they suspected to be cannabis and cocaine. The prosecutor said that after

the find, the police put allegations to Leacock of having the drugs in his possession. In the midst of Leacock’s arrest, a scuffle ensued between himself and one of the policemen. It was during the scuffle the accused made good of his escape. Moore added that Leacock was in handcuffs when he escaped the custody of the police. The prosecutor further mentioned that following the defendant’s escape, he was recently spotted by police and was rearrested.

Leacock who was given a chance to address the court before his sentencing, told the court that he fled because the police were trying to frame him. According to the accused, the police had searched his place before and found nothing, and they came back and accused him of having drugs in his possession. Leacock told the court that he pleaded with them but got scared and ran away.

The Chief Magistrate before handing down her six months sentence told Leacock that the penalty for escaping custody is 12 months, but the court would have mercy on him. She also reprimanded him for taking actions into his own hands and fleeing from the police.