Prison officers’ killers still at large

THE killers of Prison Officer Darren Francis are still at large. One week after Francis was ambushed and killed by unknown gunmen as he made his way to work, police are yet to make a breakthrough in his murder.

Investigators into Francis’ death are looking into the angle that he may have been killed for taking away the cell phone of an inmate. Reports from inside the prison indicate that inmates warned officers they would be murdered if they took away their cell phones.

Francis was killed outside his Hindustan home, Princes Town, on the morning of October 17, in what has been described as a ‘hit’ hours after prison officers intercepted a call, in which the callers threatened that an officer was to be murdered.

Francis, 38, father of two sons, died from a single bullet to his head. He was the second prison officer to be murdered within the past three weeks. Superintendent of Prisons Wayne Jackson was also felled by a hail of bullets as he made his way to his Malabar home.

No one has been arrested or charged for Jackson’s killing.

Francis worked as a DJ at the Rise Radio Station at the Maximum Security Prison.

At his funeral service last Monday, his colleagues spoke about the positive impact he made on the lives of officers as well as inmates through the station. Tributes were read from inmates at the funeral service.

Ag Commissioner of Prisons Dane Clarke said since Francis’ brutal murder, hits have been placed on the lives of five more officers including president of the Prison Officers Association Ceron Richards.

Clarke said he had to call in other agencies to help, and in some cases, they have had to relocate the officer’s families.

Homicide Region III is continuing investigations.