–except one pistol, says Prisons Director

ALL OF the weapons, except one, that were stored in the Camp Street Prison Armory have been accounted for, Prisons Director Gladwyn Samuels said.
The armory (or the prison’s arms store) was set ablaze last Sunday by escaping prisoners.
“So far, one weapon is not accounted for,” Samuels told reporters at a press conference held at the Ministry of Public Security, Brickdam, Georgetown.
He pointed out that some of the weapons recovered might have been damaged and did not rule out the possibility that one of the escapees might have the missing weapon or it could still be lying uncovered in the piles of rubble.
Questioned on whether the staff on duty at the prison last Sunday was adequate to man its operations, more so to manage the unrest and fire, the prisons director responded “adequate is relative”.
He disclosed that there were about 40 staff in total last Sunday but could not ascertain how many of them were there at the time of the fire, since the staff attendance book was lost in the blaze.
Samuels also explained that the number of officers scheduled to work on Sunday was in keeping with the staff quota for that day.
The Georgetown Prison is equipped to communicate with the Guyana Prison Service Central headquarters in Brickdam and to alert officers outside its environs.
Both of these measures were used during the Camp Street fire, Samuels told reporters.
The Guyana Chronicle had reported that the unrest and fire was a distraction that served the interest of a few prisoners. These reports made mention of a possible collusion between the prisoners and prison staff.
But Samuels ruled out that possibility, contending that the incident was “well-orchestrated” with quite a few prisoners involved.

THE ESCAPE
During the fire, there was some confusion created by the behaviour of the prisoners but the authorities fought resolutely to bring the situation under control.
Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud, who also spoke at the press conference, said the situation during the fire was volatile and commended the Joint Services for a job well done in maintaining order.
According to the commissioner, security received intelligence directing them to guard the walls of the prison since prisoners could have escaped from there.
And with a great majority of the forces focussed on securing the perimeter of the prison and the prison walls and skillfully evacuating the prisoners, all the while battling the conflagration, some of the prisoners channelled their attention to the front gate and overpowered the guards there.
In all, five of them escaped along Camp Street.
Three of them proceeded to hijack the vehicle of Matthew Shivtahal, and Commissioner Seelall said, “They [the police officers] didn’t notice persons passing them on Camp Street.”

Meanwhile, some of the prisoners were taken to the Prison Officers Sport’s Club, but that building was also set on fire. Miraculously, the officers were able to control the stampede of prisoners fleeing from the crowd.
The unrest and fire have been reportedly orchestrated by Bartica Massacre murder convict, Royden Williams who managed to slip through the authorities’ grasp.
Williams was housed in the condemned division in a separate cell.
The death row inmate, also called “Smallie” was convicted of eight counts of murder and four counts of manslaughter and was sentenced to death.
For the Bartica Massacre, Williams also has a second indictment for terrorism and three counts for break and enter and larceny.
Based on initial information received, Samuels said Williams had recruited or otherwise sought the assistance of other inmates who assisted in breaking open his cell, allowing for his escape during Sunday’s fire.