Residents fearful after troubled teens escape lock-up
Residents in Barrett Town in St James are expressing concern after news surfaced last Friday that three teenage boys, two of them facing gun charges, had escaped from the Barrett Town lock-up and might still be lurking in the area.
The two teens facing gun-related charges before the Western Regional Gun Court are 13 and 17 years old.
Th other, 16, who is said to be uncontrollable, is presently before the Montego Bay Family Court.
“Wi hear sey dem a three the hard way, and dem nuh easy at all,” one shopkeeper told THE STAR. “Since mi hear bout the jailbreak on Friday, and people seh dem see them inna the area, mi start lock up mi shop from early, because mi caa afford fi dem young boy yah come rob mi. Some people a look out fi dem, while some definitely fraid.”
Several residents told THE STAR that three males fitting the boys’ description were sighted in the community last Friday.
“Mi a drive pon the back road about 3 o’clock, and as mi go round the corner mi see the three youth dem. Mi realise seh dem look kinda nervous so mi start pree dem a way, and den mi si wen dem chuck off inna some bush and run gone,” said a taxi operator.
Reports are that about 4:30 p.m., the Hanover police transported another juvenile to the Barrett Town Police Station to be housed, and while the station guard was in the process of placing him in a cell, he noticed that the three boys were missing.
Close observation by the police revealed that a rear cell door had been opened, and two padlocks that secured the grille were cut.
One officer told THE STAR that the police are carrying out searches of St James to have them back behind bars as quickly as possible.
“But like I have said, this is not a case where we are in search of fully grown criminals, so the police are faced with a much greater challenge as young boys tend to blend into the general population more easily than fully grown men,”the officer said.
The police are asking anyone with information that could assist in the recapture of the boys to contact the Barrett Town police, police emergency at 119, or Crime Stop at 311.