Convicts escape Hunts Bay lock-up

Two criminals awaiting sentencing at the Hunts Bay Police Station lock-up made a pre-Independence Day jailbreak and are still on the run.

Yesterday, the leadership of the station held an emergency meeting to, among other things, ascertain how the men escaped custody.

Questions are being raised about the state of affairs at the St Andrew South Divisional Headquarters where eight prisoners escaped in April 2020.

On Thursday, convicted prisoners Roland Scully, 30, and Gevone Myrie, 26, were discovered missing.

Reports from the Corporate Communications Unit (CCU) are that about 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, checks were made and a hole was seen in the perimeter fence at the rear of the lock-up and the men were missing.

Both Scully and Myrie were recently convicted for illegal possession of firearm and ammunition, and were being held in the lock-up awaiting sentencing.

Head of the division, Superintendent Kirk Ricketts, yesterday told The Gleaner that he has been meeting with the investigating officer and other stakeholders.

“Before we know what policies were breached, we have to do the investigation first and then we will see what went wrong and when,” Ricketts said when asked about the frequent breakouts.

Ricketts was not at the helm last year when eight prisoners escaped custody but told The Gleaner that the police would fix it.

“But something went wrong that would have allowed two inmates to have left our care and we are now examining everything that happened last evening (Thursday) into today (yesterday),” said Ricketts.

When our news team visited the location yesterday, scene of crime detectives had just arrived and commenced their investigations.

The St Andrew South Police Division recorded the highest number of murders in 2020 and up to July 29 of this year, led all 19 police divisions in that regard.

On Sunday April 19, 2020, eight prisoners escaped custody at the same lock-up.

It was reported that a COVID-19 prevention sanitisation exercise was being done at a section of the lock-up which caused prisoners to be moved to a temporary holding area at the facility.

Soon after, it was discovered that eight prisoners had breached a section of the holding area and escaped.

The police are urging Scully and Myrie to turn themselves in and are reminding family members, residents and associates that it is an offence to harbour a criminal.

Anyone who has information about the whereabouts of the men can call Hunts Bay police at 923-5626 or call 119 or crime stop at 311.