US federal authorities have issued a warrant for the arrest of prison escapee Shawn Brown as a material witness in the kidnapping here of former regional security officer at the US Embassy, Stephen Lesniak.
A US embassy official told Stabroek News yesterday that the US authorities believe that Brown has knowledge of the kidnapping and may have been involved.
But a number of obstacles may be in the way of his extradition since up to now kidnapping is a common law misdemeanour and unless the Kidnapping Bill, now before parliament, is enacted it might not be possible to extradite Brown.
A release from the embassy yesterday also named Mark Phillips and Shawn Gittens both of whom are now dead as having been involved in the kidnapping. It added that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security were continuing to collaborate with local police “to ensure that all those involved in this kidnapping are brought to justice.”
The US embassy official told Stabroek News that the issue of the warrant allows the US authorities to formally request the authorities to provisionally arrest Brown. The arrest warrant was issued in the Northern District Court of Illinois and US laws allow for a foreign national to be charged in a US court for an offence committed against a US citizen.
Five armed men kidnapped Lesniak on April 12 while he was playing golf at the Lusignan Golf Club, East Coast Demerara. The abductors initially demanded a US$300,000 ransom but he was released the same day after his friends handed over a still undisclosed amount to his kidnappers. Lesniak, who has since returned to America, was held in Buxton, the haven for Brown and his associates, and paraded through its streets.
Brown and four others escaped from the Camp Street jail on February 23, 2002.