Samuels’ murder suspects face court

| 08/09/2009

(CNS): Three men accused of the murder of 28-year-old Omar Samuels appeared in court this morning and protested that they were set-up to the News27cameras.  Osbourne Wilfred Douglas, who is 22, Patrick Elbert McField, also 22, and Brandon Mikkyle Leslie, who is 23 were charged by Detective Inspector Kim Evans on Saturday, 5 September. The men said today they were victims of a corrupt system as they arrived at the George Town court for their first hearing.

Samuels was found suffering a gun shot wound to his leg in the McField Lane area of George Town in the early hours of Sunday, 5 July, and he was pronounced dead on arrival at the George Town Hospital. A post mortem, which was carried out a week later on Sunday, July 12, showed Samuels suffered a single gun shot wound to his leg which penetrated the femoral artery.

SIO Detective Inspector Kim Evans said the team has been working exceptionally hard on the case and thanked the community for its support. “Every piece of information given to us is vital to the investigation,” he said. Despite the charges, he also stressed that anyone with information relating to Samuels’ death who has not spoken to an officer should do so.

Evans said he can be reached on 925-6761 or 925-7240. An anonymous answerphone has been set up so residents can pass information directly to the police without giving their identity. The number is 949-7777. Alternatively, people can also call Crime Stoppers on 800-8477 (TIPS) which is answered overseas. All persons calling Crime Stoppers remain anonymous, and are eligible for a reward of up to $1000, should their information lead to an arrest or recovery of property/drugs.

See Cayman News 27 video here

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  1. Concerned young caymanian mother says:

    Caywoman, i totally agree with you and you couldn’t have stated it any better. It is not fair to take sides, and we should let the justice system do their job, but… you have made an excellent point.

    Nothing happens without reason. It is sad to know that omar is in the grave, but for fairness sake, what type of lifestyle washe living and why did he possess an assualt riffle? For sure if you live by the knife you die by the knife, sad to say, but true. I pray for the accused, the deceased, and the families of both.   As Twyla Vargas would say " Walk Good".

     

     

  2. caywoman says:

    You know what – there is obviously more than one side to this case.  I hardly doubt that our young men go out there and randomly gun down innocent bystanders…it can’t be that bad yet.  When it gets that bad, UK here I come… 

    …but there goes a part of the problem here in Cayman now – people automatically think that if you’re young and from the ‘ghetto’ or a deprived area of the island, that you’re automatically a ‘gun man’ or a ‘bad man’, which in turn causes these young men to be looked down upon (with or without a criminal record), which then makes it hard for them to get jobs (in or out of school), which can lead to all kinds of criminal behaviour…but did we really give them a chance in the beginning? Did we?  Many of you have to truthfully say no.  I know many young people who have fought their way out of the ‘ghetto’ but only through the support of the community – hey, Rhianna is one of them!  One of those convicted young men aspires to be a fireman…isn’t that funny…now he faces a charge that can put him away for life, if convicted – even if he’s not guilty.

    Not in their defense – by any means, I support legal systems…they keep us safe – I just don’t trust this islands’.  With the amount of corruption that has now been revealed to the public, it’s really difficult to put your trust in a proven unfair, unjust system…nonetheless every action reaps a reaction – and neither parties were saints, those accused have more than likely been through Cayman’s legal system and the young man that perished, well he was on house arrest for possession of an AK-47 assault rifle with ammo. You get me!?

    For the sake of these islands, I do hope that the new commissioner will be fair, just and objective in cases like these where local officers, even in higher rankings, can tarnish the reputation of our own and have them sent away for life.  Alternatively, if the convicted are truly to blame then we have a much larger issue within our communities than gun and drug control – and if that’s the case…may God bless my beautiful island home. 

     

     

  3. Anonymous says:

    Part of the problem in Cayman is that society wants to for ever Judge you by the crime you committed, no matter what you do. There are road blocks in you way, even though you went to court and you have served you debt to SOCIETY.

  4. Raffaele says:

    Yes StandardsX2 please read Seize Canoe article 2 times We wouldn’t want to give any false impressions now would we give it rest. If you do not like the way things are done here Aircraft and Canoes are available for other sunny destinations.

  5. Got U says:

    9:56 This is a murder investigation and not a simple car crash.  A murder investigation sometimes takes years to solve.

    Not saying that these guy men should always be at home, but the old people used to say "If you were home, your name would not be called".

    I don’t feel that the police is trying to do anything wrong.  Let’s watch the outcome of this case.

    Got U

     

  6. Anonymous says:

    These men say they feel they were set up and a victim of corrupt system….this has been proven before.  Why wait 2 months to charge some for this and not two days after the incident? This is Cayman word flies fast!  Or can it be a case where the police are trying to cover up and possibly move the heat off their behinds for waiting for a 1/2 hr to help this poor boy?  

    • Anonymous says:

      Of course they would say they have been set up.They’re hardly likely to walk into court and say ‘Yes your Honor, I did it.." are they now.

       

      • Anonymous says:

        Here’s a thought…….if they were guilty they wouldn’t say anything.

  7. Standards x2 says:

    Why is it when a foreigner is arrested their nationalities are reported in almost every story, giving the impression that crime is caused by foreigners to the loony fringe, but when all these young Caymanians have been arrested or wanted for serious offences it is not expressly reported as such?  The bigots might stop throwing stones now it is clear they live in such a glass house.

     

    • Anonymous says:

      That is false. CNS doesn’t generally report nationalities of those or charged although in the past they have clearly identified some as Caymanians.  There is also a difference between being arrested for an offence and being charged and being convicted.

      The bottom line is that there are criminal elements amongst expats and Caymanians and we need the most effective means of apprehending them. Pretending that there are no criminal expats or criminal Caymanians does not help anyone.   

  8. Jedi Dread says:

     There’s that age group again… 20-25..

    We need to help our young men, Cayman put your differences aside. Enough of this Cayman vs. Expat crap.

    We need to make as many vocational and apprenticeship programs available as soon as possible and give our young men some hope and something to do (Churches, Private Sector, Service Clubs, UCCI, I beg for your help with this)… before they get mixed up in the wrong crowd and try to prove their manhood by doing the wrong things.

    Ladies, please don’t glorify the gangsta lifestyle… lest you too, shall fall victim. Heed my warning.

    Our Father, who art in Heaven… *pray for our boys, pray hard.

    – Jedi Dread –