Prisoners who fled from Mazaruni jail likely had help - Benn
Four prisoners yesterday morning escaped from the solitary division of the Mazaruni Prison Complex, Cuyuni-Mazaruni and Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn told Stabroek News that from all indications they were aided in their flight.
The Minister said from preliminary investigations it has been determined that the prisoners received help to escape. A search has been launched and an investigation is currently underway to determine what transpired.
The escapees are Imran Ramsaywack, Kenrick Lyte, Samuel Gouveia, and Ryan Jones. Ramsaywack and Lyte were imprisoned following murder convictions while Gouveia and Jones were convicted for manslaughter.
Acting Director of Prisons, Nicklon Elliot, in a statement yesterday said the prisoners were observed missing at about 07:15 hours during the unlocking of the Brick Prison. The area is secured by a Duty Officer and four other ranks.
Elliot said that ranks on duty who went to unlock the prison observed that the padlock to the entrance gate had been tampered with. This led to further checks and it was discovered that two bars in the cell had been cut.
Upon the discovery, the matter was reported to the officer in charge of the Mazaruni Prison, Senior Superintendent of Prisons (Ag), Kofi David, who immediately ordered a roll call. On its conclusion, the prison authorities confirmed that the convicted prisoners who were housed the Brick Prison (solitary) had escaped.
Elliot in the statement said a Joint Patrol has been established at the outer perimeter of the Prison and a search over water, air, and land has been launched by the Joint Services to recapture the four escapees.
Ramsaywack, of Berbice was sentenced to death after being found guilty of the murder of a United States-based Buxton woman in 2015.
The charge against Ramsaywack stated that between March 25 and March 26, 2015, he murdered Samantha Benjamin.
Trial Judge Justice Sandil Kissoon at the time of sentencing had told the court that he found that the woman’s death was the result of a cold-blooded, calculated robbery that eventuated in murder.
Justice Kissoon in 2019 during the sentencing told the court that Ramsaywack was not fit to be reintegrated into society among “civilized citizens” and he then imposed the death sentence.
Benjamin was a US citizen and proprietor of a boutique in the Vendor’s Mall on Water Street. In order to dispose of Benjamin’s body, Ramsaywack went to great lengths and effort to dismember her body. Her remains were found at the Annandale foreshore on March 26, 2015. Later the same day, the head, legs, and arms were found at the foreshore.
Meanwhile, Kyte in 2019 was also sentenced to death by Justice Kissoon after being found guilty of the murder of 72-year old Osmond Fiedtkou.
Fiedtkou’s body was found on the morning of July 13, 2014, by police and a community search party about two miles from his Groete River residence (15 miles below Bartica). His shotgun, boat and engine had been taken.
According to reports Fiedtkou was murdered by Lyte following an argument over money owed to the deceased.
Gouveia, of Plaisance,
East Coast Demerara, was on trial for the murder of Santee Solomon in 2015.
It was stated that Gouveia had fatally stabbed Solomon. It was initially reported that Solomon was attacked by two men.
Jones, of Bartica, was sentenced to 28 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to the unlawful killing of Timehri mechanic, Puranand Baljit, who was stabbed to death during a robbery at his Madewini home in 2016.
In 2019, he appeared before Justice Sandil Kissoon at the High Court in Georgetown, where he pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He had initially been indicted for murdering Baljit, called ‘Andrew’, in the
furtherance of a burglary on June 9, 2016.
Prosecutor Mandel Moore told the court that on the night of the encounter, Jones entered the deceased’s house through his bedroom window, which was left open, and stole his laptop and phone. However, Baljit awakened and spotted Jones, who proceeded to stab him 10 times about the body.
Jones then fled the scene, but was arrested two days later. It was reported that he led the police to an abandoned house, where they recovered the murder weapon and the clothing he wore during the commission of the robbery. Baljit’s cellphone was found in his possession.
Justice Kissoon had started sentencing with a minimum of 25 years for manslaughter and then deducted one-third of the sentence due to Jones’ early guilty plea. Two years and one month were then subtracted for the time Jones spent in prison (although he had been sentenced for escaping custody while incarcerated at Lusignan).
However, three years and seven months were added for the brutality of the offence, bringing the final sentence to a total of 28 years. The judge had ruled that Jones must spend the 28 years in prison without the possibility of being considered for parole.
The police have appealed 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.
A further appeal was 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. All information given will be treated with a high degree of confidence and the rights of those escapees will be respected and upheld, the police assured.
Anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of the four is asked to contact the police on telephone numbers 4552238, 455-2222, 455-2241, 226-4585, 225-2700, 225-3650, 226-1326, 911, or the nearest police station.
- Donald Trump's legal troubles are far from over, despite his acquittal in the U.S. Senate impeachment trial that ended on Saturday.
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell noted this just moments after voting to acquit Trump, saying the courts are the proper forum for holding the former president accountable for his role in the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.
“President Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office as an ordinary citizen,” McConnell said on the Senate floor. “He didn’t get away with anything. Yet.”
Here's an explanation of how Trump's leaving office affects his criminal and civil exposure.
Can Trump be prosecuted for acts he engaged in as president?
Yes. Now that Trump has left office, any misconduct he engaged in as president is "fair game" for criminal charges, said Brian Kalt, a constitutional law professor at Michigan State University.
Trump enjoyed more protection from prosecution while he was president because the U.S. Justice Department has concluded it would be unconstitutional to indict a sitting president. But there is no federal prohibition on charging a former president for acts committed while in office.
"The immunity argument is about the timing of the trial; it is generally accepted that ex-presidents can be prosecuted for crimes committed in office," Kalt said.
Do Trump's official acts enjoy special protection from prosecution?
No.
In some contexts, U.S. courts have drawn a distinction between a president's "official acts" and actions unrelated to the job of president. For example, in a 1982 case the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that, in civil lawsuits, presidents are immune from liability arising from their official acts.
But if Trump violated criminal laws, the fact that he took those actions while president would not shield him from liability, said Randall Eliason, a law professor at George Washington University and a former federal prosecutor.
As a practical matter, prosecutors will be careful not to criminalize "policy disagreements or exercises of discretion," he said.
Eliason said it would be appropriate for prosecutors to investigate Trump's role in the Jan. 6 riot, as well as his attempts to undermine Democratic President Joe Biden's election victory.
What criminal investigations does Trump face so far? For more than two years, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance has been probing Trump’s real estate business for possible insurance and tax fraud. There is a separate civil investigation by New York state Attorney General Letitia James into whether the business falsely reported property values.