ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) – A 26-year-old Jamaican national has been convicted and fined EC$1,500 after he pleaded guilty to escaping the lawful custody of the Antigua and Barbuda Immigration Department earlier this month.

Akido McDonald was arrested on Saturday after he was found hiding at a house in Swetes, on the southeast side of Antigua following his escape from an Immigration Detention Centre the day before.

McDonald pleaded guilty when he appeared before Antiguan Magistrate Ngaio Emanuel and was given a 48-hour deadline to pay the fine.

He was also ordered removed from the island once the fine has been paid, with the court being told that the next flight out of Antigua to Jamaica will be on January 30. As a result, McDonald has been remanded to His Majesty’s Prison until that time.

McDonald had arrived from Kingston on board a Caribbean Airlines (CAL) flight on January 23 and was denied entry by immigration officers.

The court was told that along with a number of other people, he was transported to the Immigration Detention Centre at Coolidge to await his return to Jamaica, but he scaled the southern iron gate of the compound with his knapsack on his back and fled.