But how did Codd escape from the courthouse along with convicted killer Jesse Mejia?
Those two should have been under enhanced police guard, but the commissioner today told us that they were left alone in a room at the courthouse. Reports say they then slipped through a window to escape.
The commissioner said it's a total failure by their police guards:
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
"I was extremely unhappy when I got the news of the escape of Codd and I think Mejia. That escape for me ought not to have happened and the police officers who were tasked to stand guard of those prisoners must take full responsibility for their inaction."
"The reason given to me by the able commander of Eastern Division is one that I cannot accept and will not accept. One of the issue is that the police officers are complaining that the supreme court area do not have a cell block, but to say that the Supreme Court do not have a cell block as a justification for what took place is unacceptable."
"Yes I understand that the prisoners were being kept in a jury room until they would have been called into the court but again I would have taken it differently if the prisoners were in the jury room, the police were there and they overpoured the police and escaped."
"I would have accepted that, but the police officers simply left the prisoners in the jury room and gone about their business. That for me is gross negligence on the part of the police. We tried arduously to make sure that the matter, particularly involving Hildebrand Codd, be successfully prosecuted."
"We went through a whole deal of things and thank goodness the family members of the deceased were very, very much cooperative with us and with the prosecution that we were able to secure that conviction. And here we are at the final stage to sentenced the man and then he escaped. It is unacceptable."
We note that in the past 4 weeks - four alleged murderers and another prisoner have escaped from police - two of them - including Codd remain at large.
