Latest update January 17th, 2025 6:30 AM
Prison releases murder accused by mistake …wanted bulletin now issued for ‘Satan,’
Police are desperately seeking to recapture 35-year-old Alvin Reid, known as ‘Satan’, who was mistakenly freed from prison while awaiting trial for the murder of a 14-year-old girl.
Murdered: Malika Hamilton
Wanted: Alvin Reid, known as ‘Satan’
Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels, disclosed that an error by some prison ranks resulted in Reid being released.
He said that the ranks are to be charged for negligence.
The accused was committed to stand trial in September 2018, for the murder of 14-year-old Malika Hamilton, whose body was fished out of the Hope Canal, East Coast Demerara, on August 12, 2016.
The blunder apparently occurred because the accused was also on remand for another offence.
According to Prison Director Samuels, Reid was ordered freed on the lesser offence.
When he was being interviewed pending release, the rank conducting the interview was not in possession of the information regarding the murder charge against Reid.
By the time the officer received the information, the murder accused had already been released, Samuels said.
The body of the victim, 14-year-old Malika Hamilton, was fished out of the Hope Canal, East Coast Demerara, on August 12, 2016.
It was alleged that she was reported missing after going for a swim with the accused and another boy.
Police arrested Reid a few days later after finding him hiding in a barrel at a relative’s house.
He was subsequently charged and remanded. The unrepresented accused had alleged that police ranks had beaten him to say things that he did not know about.
A magistrate subsequently threw the matter out after ruling that police had not made out a case against Reid.
The police filed an appeal, and in September 2018, Reid was rearrested. This time around, police provided further evidence against him.
Magistrate Peter Hugh ruled that sufficient evidence was provided for him to stand trial.
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