PRISONER Jason Jerome Rolle denied escaping lawful custody on Friday afternoon when he was arraigned in Magistrates Court yesterday.

Rolle, 21, appeared before Magistrate Constance Delancy after he got away from a police transport vehicle on Wulff Road near Claridge Road around 4pm en route to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDCS).

Police reported immediately that a search was being conducted for an “armed and dangerous” convict. Rolle was arrested shortly after 9:30pm on Friday off Farrington Road by officers from the Selective Enforcement Team after a five and half hour island-wide search involving officers and dogs.

Rolle pleaded not guilty to the charge and will stand trial on July 13. He could face up to two years imprisonment if convicted at trial.

In February, police searched for two weeks before recapturing convicted murderer Ormand Leon, who had escaped from a police bus taking prisoners from the courts to the BDCS on February 2.

Leon escaped from the bus on York Street, off East Bay Street, after leaving a Supreme Court hearing at which he was told he would be sentenced for murder in two weeks.

He was captured by officers at a home in bushes on Fire Trail Road in southwest New Providence after being on the run for two weeks. On February 17, Leon was sentenced to 41 years, six months, two weeks and one day.

When arraigned on an “escape” charge, he pleaded guilty and was also sentenced to 24 months in jail to run concurrently with his other sentence.

The results of a police investigation into how the 26-year-old escaped have yet to be released.

A week after his escape, Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade said the Royal Bahamas Police Force was “looking into new devices to use” for transporting prisoners to and from the BDCS.

By Lamech Johnson, Tribune Staff Reporter

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