‘Skinny’s’ escape blamed on contractor’s error

Jun 30, 2008 News

A contractor’s mistake may have facilitated the escape of notorious criminal Jermaine ‘Skinny’ Charles.
A senior source at the Sparendaam Police Station told this newspaper that the wooden portion of the floor of the lock-ups should not have been there in the first place.

Instead, the entire floor should have been constructed with concrete.
“Why this was not done is a big surprise,” the source told this newspaper.

Kaieteur News understands that the problem has since been rectified and the entire floor is now constructed of concrete.

Charles escaped last Wednesday by using a seven inch by two and a half foot opening in the wooden section of the floor after he was placed in the lock-ups following a court hearing.

Acting Police Commissioner Henry Greene had told media operatives that investigations revealed that the board in the lock-ups had come loose about one month ago.

This, he said, was reported to the station, but no action to remedy the situation was taken. He also said that it would appear that inspectors in charge of the escorts paid no attention to the high profile prisoners in the lock-ups.

Meanwhile, there has been no reported sighting of the fugitive, although two persons in the village of Agricola have been arrested for reportedly harbouring him.

Several special Police units have been established to hunt him down.
A senior Government official told this newspaper that there is the likelihood that a reward will be offered to anyone who provides information which could lead to Charles’s recapture.

However, the official said that this will have to be discussed before any figure is announced.
The official, nevertheless, pointed out that, in the interim, it is hoped that public-spirited persons will assist the law enforcement agencies to capture Charles, who has the reputation of being a vicious killer.