Two escaped prisoners from Santo Domingo jail recaptured; to be transferred to El Encuentro
National Police captured two of the six inmates who escaped from Bellavista Prison in Santo Domingo. Four remain at large.
Two recaptured following mass escape from Santo Domingo penitentiary
The National Police recaptured two of the six inmates who had escaped in the early hours of 12 October from Bellavista Deprivation of Liberty Centre in Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, according to eltelegrafo.com.ec. The detainees were identified as John Moisés Chalco Zambrano and Serafín Sigifredo Vera Silva, located on Tuesday evening in the Otongo Mapalí sector following a citizen alert. Units from GOE and Aeropolicial participated in the operation.
Interior Minister John Reimberg confirmed the capture and announced that both would be transferred to El Encuentro, a maximum-security prison in Santa Elena. "For these men who escaped from Santo Domingo jail and attempted to mock the state, El Encuentro awaits them," the official wrote.
The escape occurred in the early hours of 12 October from the maximum-security area of the penitentiary. According to preliminary reports, the six inmates opened a breach in a wall and used hammocks made from fabric to descend to the rear of the penitentiary centre. Authorities deployed operations in the Eastern, Western and La Concordia districts, and used drones to track possible escape routes.
The investigation also reached centre security personnel: four police officers were processed and remanded in custody whilst possible responsibilities related to the escape are investigated.
The six escapees were identified as Néstor Alfonso Guevara Moreta, Serafín Sigifredo Vera Silva, José Marcelo Cevallos Zambrano, John Moisés Chalco Zambrano, Alexis Damián Rivas Meneses and Eduardo Manuel Arica Jara. Three face proceedings or convictions for rape, one for robbery, one for murder and one for drug trafficking. Following the two recaptures, four remain at large.
Police are maintaining active operations to locate the remaining fugitives and a rewards scheme remains in place for anyone providing information that facilitates their capture.
Source: Google News DO — Santo Domingo