Prisoner found dead in Essequibo lock-ups

TWENTY-THREE-year-old Steffon Smith of Vryman’s Erving, New Scheme, New Amsterdam, was, on Thursday, found dead in the Suddie Police Station Lock-ups.

Guyana Chronicle was told that Smith was charged and placed before the court for attempted murder and wounding with intent. He was also ordered by a judge to have a mental evaluation, which was scheduled for today (Friday), to determine whether he was fit to stand trial for the offences. According to reports, the man, who was in a cell with two other prisoners, tied a sheet around the grill window and hanged himself.
One police source indicated that, based on how the lockups at the Station was built, there is one main door that leads to two separate lockups. The two lockups are without individual doors and a prisoner can move from one cell to the other and be away from the eyes of others within either cell.

Earlier on Thursday, one of the three prisoners was taken out to attend court, leaving Smith, and a 19- year-old Sophia resident, in the lockups. When a police approached the lockups to remove the 19- year-old, the rank observed that Smith was not in sight and enquired where he was. At that point the 19- year-old indicated that Smith was over in the other cell.

It turned out that when the police went to that section of the cell, Smith was found hanging. He then quickly raised an alarm. Smith reportedly worked as a miner. Guyana Chronicle also learnt that Smith was taken to the lock-ups to facilitate his appearance in court for the offences which were committed, back in 2016, in the Potaro/Siparuni Region 8.

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