Licks paralyze escaped prisoner

Eighteen year old Dexter Brewster who was jailed for rape and aggravated burglary in February, was recently hospitalized in a state of paralysis from the waist down following an alleged beating by police officers during his attempt to escape custody. {{more}}
It is alleged that on March 24, Brewster was returning to prison from the Kingstown Magistrate Court where he went to answer a summary charge, when he pulled away from the security detail and ran. He was pursued and caught in the area of the Grammar School Playing.
Reports say that following the severe beating, Brewster’s body went limp and he appeared dead. He was placed in a police transport and taken to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital where he was admitted.
Authorities confirmed Wednesday that Brewster was indeed unable to move from the waist down, but it was still early to determine whether he would be permanently paralyzed. Information received say that x-rays taken of Brewster’s spine showed no broken bones and his condition was improving.
Brewster and another man, Rawlson Williams, were each sentenced to eight years in February after they pleaded guilty to joint charges of rape and burglary.
The court heard that Brewster, Williams and another unidentified man, armed with a gun, cutlass and knife, broke into the BBB Bar at Sion Hill on the night of June 6, 2001, and held the proprietor and his female companion captive.
Police said they tied their hands behind their backs and raped the woman. One of the intruders then urinated in the woman’s face.
Brewster, on his release from hospital, could be charged for escaping lawful custody.