By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune News Editor

rrolle@tribunemedia.net 

NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe said authorities must study how a murder suspect managed to slip away from the Magistrates’ Court last Thursday and tighten security to ensure it never happens again, comparing the process to “building a better mousetrap.”

Mr Munroe said he had not yet been briefed on the full details of the escape of 34-year-old D’Angelo Culmer, who has been on the run for nearly a week. But he said closed-circuit cameras in the court’s holding area should reveal exactly how the incident unfolded.

“I remember when we used to do the Bank Lane shuffle,” he said when asked how alarmed he is by the escape. “A young girl threw a fella a gun and he shot his way out of custody. I remember when a fella dove through the downstairs Supreme Court window and made his escape for a brief time. You continue to improve the mousetrap.”

He said the police should be reviewing the video footage, questioning those on duty, and preparing a full security brief to determine whether the escape resulted from negligence or collusion.

“You always have to look and see why this happened, why this was able to happen to put systems in place to make sure it cannot happen again,” he said. “If it happened with complicity of individuals, you hold them to account.”

Culmer escaped around 3.30pm on October 3 from the South Street complex, wearing a blue T-shirt and light blue jeans. Police said he has tattoos of lips on his neck and the name “Tiffany” on his right chest.

He had been remanded to prison in February, accused of killing 39-year-old Rudiska Bethel in a drive-by shooting on Ragged Island Street on January 31. At the time of the incident, Culmer was already on bail for attempted murder.

Mr Munroe noted that people who remain at large often rely on outside help and urged the public not to assist or shield the fugitive.

“When you escape, it’s an automatic two years,” he said. “To stay at large, you need assistance. You need money, people to help you, or people not to call the police when they see you. The public is encouraged not to do either of those things.”

He added that if Culmer’s case is gang-related, the escapee could be in danger himself.

“He’s charged with murder,” he said. “If it’s one of these murders that’s gang-related, people may pose a threat to him as well. And the public, of course, should not be in the company of people who people are trying to kill. So if this is gang-related, more than the police may be looking for him.”

Police have released no new information about the fugitive’s whereabouts and said they are still investigating how he got away.

Culmer’s escape marks one of the longest lapses between an inmate’s flight from custody and recapture in recent years. In 2022, a 25-year-old man who fled the same court complex was caught within two days.