Man charged with harbouring escapee granted $20,000 bail

A 28-year-old man accused of harbouring the death row inmate who escaped from prison on Christmas Eve was yesterday granted $20,000 bail. Khriston Ashby, of Francis Road, Saddle Road, San Juan, was granted bail when he reappeared in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates Court before Magistrate Cheron Raphael yesterday.

Ashby was remanded in custody during his first court appearance on Wednesday, after police prosecutors objected to bail because his criminal record was not available at the time. He is accused of preventing the apprehension of convicted murderer Darryl Charles-Bissoon by providing him with housing and other amenities. The two were arrested at Ashby’s home last Saturday.

Charles-Bissoon also appeared in court on Wednesday on a charge of escaping lawful custody. Charles-Bissoon, of First Street, San Juan, is alleged to have escaped around 1 am on December 24, from the Port-of-Spain State Prison, Frederick Street, Port-of-Spain.

On October 6 last year, Charles-Bissoon was convicted in the Port-of-Spain Assizes, along with Anderson “Weasel” Mapp, for the murder of Colin De Landro. Both men were sentenced to hang. De Landro was shot dead during a family lime at his Prizgar Lands, San Juan, home, on May 28, 2005. Charles-Bissoon will reappear in court to answer the charge on January 30, while Ashby’s matter was adjourned to February 1. Neither man has retained a lawyer to represent him.