HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — An inmate was not arrested after allegedly escaping from the Department of Corrections on Christmas Eve.
Over the weekend, inmate Erson Reselap, 25, allegedly escaped custody after he was transported to Guam Memorial Hospital for an undisclosed medical condition around 4 p.m. Sunday. Reselap was escorted by a Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center staff member, while three DOC Special Operations Response Team officers followed the ambulance in an official vehicle.
About 7:42 p.m. that day, the Behavioral Health staff member reported he lost custody of Reselap, who was captured in the Tamuning area around 11:20 p.m., DOC said in a press release.
In past incidents of inmate escapes, suspects typically were arrested and charged with felony escape as a third-degree felony.
In the recent incident, the Guam Police Department was contacted and assisted in Reselap’s apprehension. Police spokesperson Officer Berlyn Savella confirmed GPD’s Special Operations Division was activated and relinquished Reselap to DOC SORT officers upon apprehension.
However, on Thursday, DOC confirmed to The Guam Daily Post that Reselap was not arrested in connection to the escape, which means he wasn’t charged in the Superior Court of Guam.
The Post inquired with Savella regarding why Reselap was not arrested, but did not receive a response as of press time.
Meanwhile, DOC confirmed it had launched an internal investigation into the escape. No other information has been provided.
Oversight
DOC is scheduled to appear before the 37th Guam Legislature at 9 a.m. Friday for an oversight hearing, during which several issues facing the agency will be discussed.
Issues listed included overcrowding; contraband; the K-9 unit; recruitment and retention; and the status of programs such as Resident Substance Abuse Treatment; work release; and education.
In light of the escape, the Post asked DOC’s legislative oversight chair, Sen. Chris Barnett, if the escape will be a topic of conversation. Barnett confirmed it will be.
Barnett on Thursday told the Post the issues faced by DOC, mainly overcrowding and an employee shortage, are the sources of the problems.
“The questions I’m going to be asking is … how are we mitigating this stuff with the number of personnel we have? Obviously, we’re not doing that, I think, at a level that satisfies the public. But I’m confident (in) Director (Fred) Bordallo, and I’m hoping we can learn from these instances and these issues so that we can perform better. And moving forward, so as to not pose any danger or threat to the public,” Barnett said.
Since being appointed as DOC director, Bordallo has stated publicly that the prison is in a “dangerous situation,” considering the inmate-to-officer ratio. Earlier this month, Bordallo told the Post the number of inmates was climbing toward 900.
Erson Reselap
