By: Candia Dames

26 January 2006

Patricia Cash, a Fox Hill grandmother who tries to keep up to date on local news happenings, said on Wednesday she’s proceeding with a little more caution these days.

That’s because police still have not been able to recapture Corey Hepburn, the only prisoner who was able to make a clean break from Her Majesty’s Prison during the daring execution of an escape plot last week Tuesday.

"I’m afraid because I have a grandchild and I have to walk to pick him up from school, so I’m careful," said Ms. Cash, who said she lives in a small house with one door and double checks a little more often now to make sure it is locked.

She’s among some residents – particularly those in the east – who are feeling jittery over the fact that Hepburn, a convicted armed robber now wanted for murder, remains on the loose.

Her fears are worsened by the fact that the Fox Hill community is only a stone’s throw away from Her Majesty’s Prison and police continue to remind that Hepburn frequented eastern neighbourhoods prior to being jailed for armed robbery.

Through one of the small corners in Fox Hill where everyone knows each other, Oswald and Faith Knowles – who said they have been married so long they’ve lost count of the years – said on Wednesday they are not living in fear, but they can’t help but wonder whether Hepburn is hiding out somewhere near.

"I keep my place locked. I don’t think he’d come in here. If he comes in here, I don’t believe he’d get out," Mr. Knowles said with a chuckle.

His wife shared that view.

"If he comes in here, he [isn’t] coming out alive," she said with a greater degree of seriousness than Mr. Knowles.

Mr. Knowles said it appears that police patrols have increased in the area and it makes him feel a little more comfortable.

Michael Thompson, another Fox Hill resident, said when night falls, "everyone is on the down low".

But he said Hepburn is probably also on the "down low" and probably more interested in getting off the island than bothering residents.

Mr. Thompson also spoke about increased police patrols and he believes that the fugitive is smart enough to know to leave the eastern end of New Providence.

But he said, "Residents are proceeding with caution and care; they’re looking out. If anybody spots him they’ll call the police, but he’s not going to come out in public."

A week after a prison officer and a murder convict were killed in the violent break, the incident remains a hot issue for discussion in the community.

One man, who said he spent two years at Her Majesty’s Prison, knows the conditions that would prompt inmates to mount escapes. But his comment drew an emotive response from another Fox Hill man, who said he had no pity for criminals who terrorize communities.

"They must pay the penalty for what they do," the man said.

Norman Davis, another resident who also spoke with The Bahama Journal on how residents are responding to news that the prisoner remains on the loose, said he hopes that some action is taken to deal with prison officers who may have been involved in the incident.

"If you see [Hepburn], you can only do what is best and tell the police," Mr. Davis said. "But we want to know how he got out in the first place. We have to look at what they’re doing up there (at the prison) before we look at what we’re doing down here (in the community) because everything that goes through the prison is checked, even right down to toothpaste, bread, everything.

"So how are [the prisoners] getting the stuff to file the bars? The only people who don’t get checked are the officers."

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security Cynthia Pratt reported shortly after the prison incident that four prisoners had escaped their cells by filing down the bars. She promised an inquiry into the matter.

On Tuesday, one week after the incident, police announced that they were offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to Hepburn’s arrest.

The people who spoke with The Bahama Journal on Wednesday, however, said while they would love to claim that reward, they had absolutely no information on Hepburn that could assist police.

Police, meanwhile, promised that the passing of time would not water down the intensity of their search. They said they hope to recapture Hepburn as soon as possible.

For many New Providence residents, his return to prison can’t come soon enough.

"We need him back behind bars so we could all sleep a little more soundly," one woman said.