MONTEGO BAY, St James — A defence lawyer has argued that his client’s decision to flee from custody four years ago was motivated by dissatisfaction with the way he was being treated.

The man, the attorney said, was kept waiting for processing without any food or drink and was later placed in a cell that provided an opportunity for him to leave.

Attorney Adrian Dayes made the remarks during Albert Doeman’s bail hearing at the St James Parish Court on Wednesday. Doeman was previously featured on the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s popular social media post “Wanted Wednesdays” and on August 2, 2020 he was arrested.

According to court documents, the 27-year-old was placed in a cell at the Spring Mount Police Station in south St James. Subsequent investigations revealed that he had absconded from the facility.

The authorities examined the prison cell and discovered a gap between the cell bars and the ceiling, and the theory was that this may have facilitated Doeman’s escape.

On November 21 of this year, the defendant visited the police station in the company of his attorney, Donovan Collins, and was subsequently taken into custody and formally charged.

During his bail submission on Wednesday before Parish Judge Natiesha Fairclough-Hylton, defence lawyer Dayes claimed that various accounts exist regarding the circumstances that led to Doeman being perceived as someone who fled from custody.

When prompted by the judge to present his most favourable version, Dayes suggested that the defendant may have been left on a bench by individuals believed to have the authority to detain him.

He went on to say that while the individuals in charge of the police station had to address sounds resembling gunshots and were unavailable to inform Doeman of his impending confinement in a cell, this resulted in a prolonged waiting period.

“Sometimes people do get frustrated with the slow process of justice and they take it on themselves and say they are going home as they are tired of this,” Dayes said.

The lawyer also made note that over the next four years Doeman remained within the confines of the community, though he did work for a relative in Kingston for a brief period.

When questioned by the judge about the circumstances that brought Doeman to the police station on November 21, the lawyer cited information on social media indicating police interest in him, adding that it demonstrates a significant shift in his client’s behaviour.

He sought to explain why his client left jail four years ago.

“Our intention was not to disregard the system or show disrespect for the force. It was an expression of frustration with how human beings are treated…He thought it was an abuse of process being left without a drink of water, without a meal, and without any consideration, for hours,” Dayes said.

The attorney also cited reported inadequacies in the cell on which his client had been placed.

“We are interested in the issue raised by the Crown as to the poor maintenance of the cell. I really don’t expect police, knowing that there is a space that persons can go through, to truthfully place prisoners in such a position,” he argued.

However, he said his client is now a changed individual.

“The experience of being in custody and the experience of the struggle it took his family and his lawyer to get him here today, this is an experience that would cause him to look on his situation today differently from how he would have looked on it when he was in custody in 2020.”

The attorney then requested that his client be released for the Christmas holiday, but the judge cited the defendant’s four-year period of evading arrest before turning himself in.

Dayes also enquired about the possibility of revisiting the matter at a later date, prompting the judge to schedule the case for mention on December 17.

Doeman was remanded in custody until that date.

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