by Mindy Aguon

Guam - Law enforcement authorities are learning more about what an alleged murderer did in the one hour and twenty minutes he was on the run after escaping from a Department of Corrections transport vehicle on Monday.

With shackles around his wrists and ankles, Keith Jermaine Garrido appeared before a judge this afternoon wearing a black-and-white striped DOC jump suit. Authorities are still trying to get a handle on what exactly transpired from the time Garrido managed to squeeze himself out of handcuffs and jump out of a transport van en route to the Superior Court of Guam and the time he was apprehended by patrol officers. When initially interviewed by police on Monday, Garrido denied any involvement in the brutal beating and robbery of a woman in Chalan Pago.

According to court documents, the woman, in her mid-40s, ran out of her home bound with cord from an iron and visibly beaten. The victim was running along Route 4 and literally ran into police who were in the area searching for Garrido. He admitted that he ran toward the Ordot church through the jungle area and then turned around and ran parallel to Route 4.

DepCor spokesperson Officer Jeff Limo says Garrido admitted that he ditched his orange DOC shirt and stole a shirt from a nearby clothesline and then attempted to break into two homes before he successfully broke into a third residence, where he encountered the female victim. Court documents indicate Garrido admitted that he beat the women for her car keys, stole money from her purse and then fled. As he tried to cross Route 4 he was chased by police, who apprehended him. Garrido later escorted authorities to the location where he discarded the money.

Garrido was charged today in court with first degree robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and kidnapping.

Assistant attorney general Jesse Nasis recommended he be held on $1 million cash bail. "This defendant is clearly a flight risk and a serious danger to the community in that he inflicted serious bodily injury against the female victim," he announced. "The likelihood of conviction is high in this case. There are admissions that are stated in the declaration."

Garrido was on pre-trial confinement for the murder of Barrigada resident Nancy Mafnas. He broke into her home, and when Mafnas arrived home she put up a fight and Garrido allegedly beat her repeatedly and left her to die but not before stealing the $7 in her purse and her car. He crashed nearby and fled on foot.

Judge Alberto Tolentino said, "You're looking at significant jail time...the court agrees therefore with the government that the $1 million cash bail is appropriate."

The victim in Monday's beating is in fair condition in the Intensive Care Unit at Naval Hospital in Agana Heights, and police were attempting to conduct an interview with her this afternoon. Garrido meanwhile is on lockdown for 23 hours a day in the Maximum Security Unit with one hour of fresh air.

DepCor officials have reassigned the two officers who were assigned to the court transports to the main facility pending the completion of the ongoing internal affairs investigation. Additionally officials are going through Garrido's phone records at prison to see if anyone may have helped him with this escape.