Claudine Housen, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
AFTER BEING on the run for less than 48 hours, Richard 'Blacks' Walters, the prisoner who escaped police custody at the Cornwall Regional Hospital, was captured at his girlfriend's home in Lilliput, St. James, on Monday night.
Walters, a resident of Salt Spring, St. James, was being treated for a broken leg, and was handcuffed and under police guard when he managed to escape custody by breaking the bed rail. Walters had been charged with illegal possession of a firearm and was awaiting an identification parade for armed robbery, as well as other serious crimes in the parish. He now faces an additional charge of escaping custody, while his girlfriend, Shakera Russell, 28, has been charged with harbouring a fugitive.
It is still unclear how Walters was able to effect the bizarre escape while he was hobbled by a broken leg, an injury he reportedly received following a robbery in which a security guard was shot last Wednesday.
"We have been investigating the escape since Sunday morning and our investigations led us there (Lilliput)," said Superintendent John Morris, crime officer for Area One Police Division.
Speaking to the security breach which led to Walters' escape, Superintendent Morris told The Gleaner that the matter would be investigated "swiftly and sharply".
"We will be investigating the matter to see if a departmental or criminal charge will be set against the officers who were on duty," he said.
In reference to calls for changes in securing high-risk persons in hospital, Superintendent Morris flatly stated that changes would not be possible at this time.
