The Tribune

By SANCHESKA BROWN Tribune Staff Reporter sbrown@tribunemedia.net POLICE said they arrested a man thought to be a prisoner who escaped custody, but 24 hours later still didn't know if they had the right man. Senior officers refuted a Tribune article that reported Frederick Green, alias Frederick Neely, 29, was apprehended on a bus at Wulff Road around 2.30pm Wednesday. At around noon yesterday, they confirmed they had someone in custody since Wednesday, but said they couldn't be sure if it was Green because officers had yet to fingerprint him or establish his identity by other means. When first asked about the arrest at a press conference yesterday, senior officers denied all knowledge of it. However, when shown an official document in The Tribune's possession detailing the incident and identifying the detained man as Green, the officers confirmed it came from the Police Control Room (See sidebar). At that point, Assistant Commissioner of Police Anthony Ferguson admitted an arrest took place but said the man in custody had not been officially identified as Green. "This could be case of mistaken identity. I am not aware of the information or where it was acquired but I can tell you he is still out there and we are looking for him. Someone may have thought it was him and then discovered it was not. I am not privy to that information or document," he said. The document, sent to The Tribune by a police source, said officers received a tip-off from a man who said he saw someone fitting Green's description getting on to a purple and white jitney on Kemp Road, heading west toward Wulff Road. Minutes later, the bus was intercepted by police on Wulff Road in the area of FYP Hardware Store. One man was taken into custody. Green escaped while seeking medical attention under guard at the Princess Margaret Hospital on February 21. He allegedly fled the hospital's chest ward through a window around 4am after the prison officer assigned to him left to use the bathroom. After his escape, prison officials maintained that the officer secured Green in restraints before leaving to use the restroom. Green was remanded to Her Majesty's Prison, Fox Hill after being charged with the 2009 armed robbery of 18 tourists at Earth Village. He is still awaiting trial. He was previously charged with the 2004 stabbing death of Dale Williams. However, he was acquitted of the charge after claiming he was defending himself against an attempted rape by a "gay, HIV positive man". The last prisoner to escape from PMH was 28-year-old Dorian Armbrister, on December 13. Armbrister was serving a 27-month sentence for stealing from a shop. Although he was outfitted with leg restraints and on 24-hour guard, he escaped the healthcare facility by jumping through a bathroom window. He was shot in the buttocks by prison officers on Dowdeswell Street a short time later.