Escapee says was fleeing prisoner who tried to kill him

Hours after turning himself over to the police for escaping from a moving prison van, Kevin Valladares was on Friday hauled before a City Magistrate and confessed to the crime.

Valladares, 26, of Linden, appeared before Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus and admitted to escaping from unlawful custody on April 21, 2022.

The unrepresented man told the court that 40-year-old Keanon Harry, who also escaped from the prison van, was the person who “did everything.”

Valladares told the magistrate that he only escaped because he did not want to stay at the Lusignan Prison on the East Coast of Demerara because a man who attempted to kill him some years ago is currently incarcerated there.

However, he said that he soon realised that escaping was wrong and turned himself over to the police.

The Magistrate deferred Valladares’ sentencing to May 4, 2022, and ordered a probation report.

On Thursday, Valladares was remanded for attempted murder while Harry was sentenced to one-year imprisonment for drug trafficking.

The men escaped sometime between 16:00hrs and 16:10hrs somewhere in the vicinity of Sparendaam; they were being transported from Linden, Region 10 to the Lusignan Prison.