A convicted killer who escaped custody to visit his ill grandmother receive an additional 15 months added to his prison sentence.
Antoine Anderson, 45, pleaded guilty to escaping lawful custody at the prison farm on August 10.
Anderson told the court that he made his escape in an effort to visit his grandmother after he was told his permission to see her had been denied.
Yesterday Puisne Judge Juan Wolffe said that the escape was an “opportunistic endeavour” without violence or threats of violence, but inmates must be aware that those who escape custody will face additional time in prison.
“I am sure that there are two sides to every story,” Justice Wolffe said. “I am sure that the defendant wanted to see his grandmother and that he loves her very much.
Before sentencing Justice Wolffe said the defendant appeared to be an intelligent, articulate man who has come a long way since he committed the offences that landed him in prison.
However he added: “Part of rehabilitation process is that when things don’t go one’s way, then one should not resort to behaviour that will only exacerbate the problem.”
Anderson was sentenced to Life in prison but will at least serve 15 years before parole in 2009 for his part in the 2007 shooting murder of Aquil Richardson.
He was sentenced to an extra seven years in 2012 for grievous bodily harm on another inmate during a 2011 prison fight.
The court heard that Anderson was transferred to the prison farm at Ferry Reach in St George’s in May 2021 as he approached eligibility for parole for the murder charge.
Anderson escape the facility and was later found after a nine hour search and arrested after a brief struggle.
Anderson apologised to the courts and the public for any anxiety that his escape might have caused.
“I’m at the mercy of the court, but it’s my grandmother,” he said. “What would you do?
“I know right from wrong but you forced my hand.”
Justice Wolffe said that while the escape was at the lower end of the spectrum, a period of incarceration was merited and the sentence should run consecutively to other sentences.
Anderson was sentenced to 15 months in prison, with the sentence to start once he is eligible for parole for the 2012 GBH conviction.
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