RBDF completes internal review of escaped detention center detainee

RBDF completes internal review of escaped detention center detainee
Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) Commodore Dr Raymond King.

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) Commodore Raymond King said the organization has completed an internal inquiry into the escape of a detainee from the detention center in October.

The RBDF is charged with the security of the perimeter of the Carmichael Road facility.

“An internal inquiry was done on our part with recommendations for administrative action against those concerned,” King told Eyewitness News when contacted for comment.

“I’m unable to comment further because I’m part of the formal redress process and wish not to prejudice the case.”

While it remains unclear how Jack Gerlin, a Haitian national, escaped from the detention center, he was caught five days after in a home he used to live in on Pinewood Drive.

Following the escape, which went unnoticed until immigration officers completed a count of the residents at the center the next morning, the Department of Immigration and other law enforcement agencies launched a manhunt for the 31-year-old.

When put before the Magistrate Court in November, Gerlin told the court he got scared and escaped before something could happen to him and he was unable to see them again.

About Royston Jones Jr.

Royston Jones Jr. is a senior digital reporter and occasional TV news anchor at Eyewitness News. Since joining Eyewitness News as a digital reporter in 2018, he has done both digital and broadcast reporting, notably providing the electoral analysis for Eyewitness News’ inaugural election night coverage, “Decision Now 2021”.