Barnett Street lock-up again under scrutiny after Saturday jail break

Western Bureau:

The lock-up at the Barnett Street Police Station, in Montego Bay, St James, which has had a long history of unsavoury incidents, was again under the microscope on Saturday morning following the escape of five prisoners, including a man awaiting trial for murder and two others on gun-related charges.

While the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is yet to provide a full account of how the men managed to escape from what should be a tightly secured facility, a former senior police officer, with first-hand knowledge of the situation there, is questioning the wisdom of placing ‘high value’ criminal suspects, including persons facing murder charges, there.

“The lock-up area at Barnett Street consists of several derelict buildings, which have been falling apart over many years, which makes it difficult to be properly secured. Additionally, it is usually undermanned, so it should basically be housing only low-risk prisoners,” the former officer told The Gleaner yesterday. “Those facing murder charges should be housed at the remand centre in Kingston, where the level of security is significantly higher.”

Between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Saturday, five prisoners reportedly escaped from the facility. They were later identified as 42-year-old Edgar Spence of Flower Hill, St James, charged with possession of a prohibited weapon and other offences; 36-year-old Tidel Ferguson of Mountain View, Greenwood, St James, who is charged with larceny of motor vehicle; 22-year-old Tyrese Brown of Albert Town, Trelawny, who is charged with murder and rape; 23-year-old Daniel McIntosh of Peddlars Lane, Mount Salem, St James, who is charged with possession of a prohibited weapon and other offences; 43-year-old Maurice Belnavis of Greens Paradise, Norwood, St James, who is charged with simple larceny.

Late Saturday afternoon, the police reported through its own social media platforms that one of the escapees, Edgar Spence, was fatally shot during a reported confrontation with the police in the Valley Heights community, near Green Pond, also in St James. However, Tyrese Brown, the most high-profiled of the escapees, up to yesterday remained on the run.

“I hope measures are being put in place to ensure the safety of the witnesses in the murder case against this man (Brown) ... You never know what steps he might take to harm these people,” the former policeman said. “Many of these guys are heartless and are capable of doing just about anything to hurt persons they see as their enemies.”

Jamaica’s most wanted

The Barnett Street lock-up, which earned international notoriety in 2014 when 31-year-old construction worker Mario Deane, who was arrested for possession of a ‘ganja spliff’, was severely beaten less than four hours after he was arrested, and died three days later without regaining consciousness, was also the scene of one of the nation’s most significant jail breaks.

On November 30, 2015, six prisoners, including 26-year-old Shanniel Luton, who was convicted on two counts of murder, and was awaiting sentencing; Kelvin Hodge, who was on trial for four counts of murder; Benjamin Stephenson, who was facing a murder charge;Marcus Brown; Gregory Roberts; and Randy Murray, who were all facing gun-related charges, escaped from the facility.

Luton, who became Jamaica’s most wanted man after his escaped, reportedly fled to Haiti, where he was reportedly killed in a gangland feud. However, because his death was not officially confirmed by the local police, his name remains on the nation’s most wanted list.

“It takes a lot of time and effort to apprehend men like these, so you can’t house them at a place where there is the slightest chance they they can escape,” the former lawman said. “Personally, I believe the Barnett Street lock-up should be no more than an overnight holding area …It has proven to be not as secure as it should be ... We need a more secure facility to hold high-risk prisoners ... Truth be told, this place is like a sieve.”

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