Officers charged in fatal prison stabbing gets bail

The two prison guards and police officer who were charged with breach of trust in relation to the fatal prison stabbing of 29-year-old Nichail Chambers have been offered bail.

The two prison officers Mark Kendall and Sharlene Maduro along with police officer Karina Brea were all offered $60,000 in bail when they appeared before Magistrate Khadeen Palmer recently.

It is alleged that on May 30, 2021, Maduro and Kendall, while in their capacity as prison officers, committed a breach of trust by passing information to inmates at the Her Majesty Prison regarding the investigations into the death of Chambers. The court was told that this was done without proper authority.

Brea is also accused of passing on information in her capacity as police officer without proper authorisation. She is accused of doing so between May 31 and June 3, 2021. This violates the police regulations.

Defence attorney Stephen Daniels represents Kendall while Valerie Stephens-Gordon represents both Brea and Maduro. The case is being prosecuted by Director of Public Prosecution Tiffany Scatliffe-Espirit.

All three accused officers will appear in court at a later date.

Meanwhile, five prisoners were also charged in relation to the fatal stabbing incident at Her Majesty Prison. The inmates Andraes Norford, Essadro Jefferson, Rean-J Christopher, Dee Dijon Hodge, and Kareem Durant are all charged for murder. Norford and Jefferson were also charged with attempted murder in relation to injuries sustained by another inmate.

The guards at the territory’s prison have come under scrutiny in recent times as an ex-convict revealed to BVI News that while incarcerated, select inmates were able to inconspicuously leave the prison for minutes up to hours at the discretion of the guards.

The three officers will appear in court at a later date.