Teenage car thief escapes from police at court

Last Updated on Saturday, 26 December 2015, 21:02 by GxMedia

The 16-year old boy, who pleaded guilty to stealing car outside a city bank, on Friday escaped from police custody at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, police confirmed.

The matter was being heard in-camera away from the glare of the media and his name, age and photograph cannot be published because he is a minor.

Police Chief of Criminal Investigations, Deputy Commissioner Seelall Persaud said depending on whether the investigation proved negligence or collusion, the police on duty at the time could be punished departmentally.

Persaud said the teenager had returned to court for sentencing but the probation report was not ready. The boy escaped as he was being taken back into police custody, according to sources.

The boy of Lot 2 Henry Street, Werk-en-Rust, pleaded guilty on April 8 to stealing a car valued at GUY$1.1 million.

The incident occurred on April 5 while a Guyana Defence Force (GDF) officer left to go to an Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) at Citizen’s Bank, Camp Street. 

The complainant is states that her husband parked the car with the engine on and went to the ATM to withdraw money when the teenager allegedly stole the car. 

The car was subsequently recovered at Nandy Park, East Bank Demerara.  Three youths in their mid-teens were arrested following a chase by the but only one was charged.