Notorious escapee back in police custody
Rickford La Fleur
Rickford La Fleur

After escaping from the New Amsterdam Prison on June 11, 2011 and was recaptured by Surinamese authorities in 2016, Rickford La Fleur is finally back in the New Amsterdam Prison.

La Fleur, who escaped twice from the prison, was wanted for two counts of murder and possession of narcotics by the Guyana Police Force.

He had fled to the neighbouring country but was captured by authorities there after committing an armed robbery. For that offence, he served a four-year sentence which ended recently.

La Fleur was Thursday escorted across the Corentyne River and handed over to the Guyana Police Force. He was subsequently taken to the New Amsterdam Prison where he remains under close watch by authorities.

La Fleur was first held by authorities in November 2010 after he was accused of killing Cleveland Hetemyer called “Water Dog” of Agony’s avenue.

It is alleged that Hetemyer was shot at Silverbali Gutter, some 90 miles up the Canje Creek, on November 4th, 2010 after a confrontation with La Fleur and another person.

He was placed under arrest but subsequently escaped from prison.

Some five months later, he was nabbed at the Backtrack Crossing at Number 78 Village in March 2011, when he was found with two kilograms of cocaine and 600 grams of cannabis in his possession.

While on remand awaiting trial for the murder, escaping and narcotics charges, La Fleur was slapped with another murder charge after it was alleged that between April 27th and May 4th, 2011, he along with others killed a fellow inmate, Sebastian Cleto, 24, called “Short Man” and “Cleto” while armed with wood and other improvised weapons.

During that incident, police had reported that Cleto was rendered unconscious and taken to the New Amsterdam hospital before being transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

In June 2011, a mere month after that incident, La Fleur again escaped from prison, this time with three others, namely: Vindoo “mango” Gopaul, who was jailed for killing his father; notorious pirate Kevin “long Hair” Narine and Vijay Seenarine.

It was reported that the men used a piece of canvas from a cement sling to climb down from their cells before ripping a hole in the fence and making good their escape at around 02:30 hrs.

Gopaul and Seenarine were recaptured by local authorities while Narine and La Fleur were captured in Suriname and were imprisoned there.

La Fleur, who once sported dreadlocks that had earned him the alias
“Rastaman” had a low cut when he was handed over to local police on Thursday.

He is charged with two counts of murder and possession of narcotics and is expected to face charges for escaping lawful custody.

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