The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

POLICE were still searching last night for a man who slipped his restraints and escaped custody while under treatment at Princess Margaret Hospital, the latest in a string of breakouts that has kept law enforcement chasing fugitives.

Raymond Duncombe, 28, of Yellow Elder, was in custody for theft when he broke free from handcuff restraints on Friday, police said. He was last seen after 2am near the Queen’s Staircase, shirtless and wearing long blue jeans.

Police said officers tried to subdue him, but he evaded both police and security personnel and remained at large.

National Security Minister Wayne Munroe said he was waiting on the outcome of the police investigation into how the escape happened, but said he expected any shortcomings to be addressed to prevent it happening again.

Mr Munroe said the inmate may not have been treated as a high security risk given the nature of his alleged crime, which could explain why the hospital ward was not fully locked down or staffed with more officers.

He said it was unusual for someone to risk a longer sentence by running for an offence likely to bring six to nine months.

“If the fellow is there for armed robbery or be a murder, there would likely have been two to three police officers, something you wouldn’t do with stealing or vagrancy or something like that,” he said. “You would put more resources the more dangerous the person is. ”

He added that serious cases require securing an entire ward, and said the design of the new prison includes an on-site medical facility to avoid such complications in the future.

“If they were to now tell me they want to lock an entire hospital ward down to make sure they keep one man in custody for stealing, I would think that's a little bit extreme, yes, and they would have to come back with something else, right? So that is why I would say you have to look at every instance why it happened to address it.”

Duncombe’s escape came just a week after two other men broke free from custody.

Police said Cameron Pratt, held for previous harm, escaped from custody in Fox Hill around 7.30am on December 6, while Thomas Minnis Jr, in custody for firearm offences, escaped from the Grove about an hour earlier.

Both incidents triggered an island-wide manhunt and the release of a wanted poster. Pratt later surrendered to police the same day. It remains unclear whether Minnis Jr was ever found.

In November, police recaptured two prisoners in Eleuthera after they escaped custody. A third, Michael Thompson, 35, escaped from the Nassau Street Police Station on November 22 and was later recaptured.

Police were also still investigating the escape of 34-year-old D’Angelo Culmer, who has been on the run for more than two months. Commissioner Shanta Knowles told The Tribune last month that three police officers were under investigation in connection with that incident.

Asked if he was alarmed about the uptick in escapes, Mr Munroe replied: “As I said the police will investigate how they happened to address any shortcoming.”