by Linda Straker
- Hayden Phillip additionally charged with escaping lawful custody
- Escaped custody on 9 January; recaptured 19 January
Police have confirmed that Hayden Phillip, the prisoner who escaped custody in January, was recently slapped with an additional charge of escaping lawful custody.
The 35-year-old resident of Cemetery Hill, St George’s is serving time for robbery and is awaiting a criminal trial for rape. He escaped custody on 9 January 2019 and was recaptured on Saturday, 19 January in the residential area of Old Fort, which overlooks the city and is within proximity to Cherry Hill, his village of residence when not in prison.
While on the run, both the Prison and the Police formed a joint team to search for the prisoner. A reward of EC$5,000 was also offered for any information that led to his recapturing. Following his recapture, a national security official confirmed that a tip-off from a citizen led to the successful recapturing, but that person would not accept the reward and preferred to remain anonymous, viewing the act as a patriotic duty.
Details of his recapturing were not shared publicly, but Phillip who was described by police as a dangerous convict, was shot in the leg in the process. He was warded at the General Hospital with prison officers on guard.
Section 378 (1) of the Criminal Code states, “Whoever, being in lawful custody for the crime, or escape under any sentence of imprisonment, endeavours to resist or prevent the execution of the law by escaping or permitting himself to be rescued, shall be liable to imprisonment for two years.”
The code also explains that where a person in lawful custody under any sentence of imprisonment escapes, the time during which he is at large shall not be considered in computing the term of his original sentence.
