Residents fight off burglars

| 13/11/2009

(CNS): What seemed to be a brief reprieve in Cayman’s crime wave came to end early this morning when a couple had to fight off two men who attempted to invade their home. The incident, which occurred at Palm Springs, South Church Street, was reported to the 911 Emergency Communications Centre at approximately 1:45am. The couple told police that as they were going into their residence they were approached by two men, and as they attempted to close the door of their home, one of the men forced his way inside. There was a short struggle but both suspects ran from the scene on to the main South Sound Road.

Police reported on Friday 13 November that nothing was taken from the home and no one required medical attention during the attempted aggravated burglary.

The suspects are described as both being approximately six feet tall, with dark complexions and of medium build. One had low cut hair, is said to be aged between 24 to 30 years and was wearing a dark gray t-shirt. The other is described as having shoulder length braided hair, late 20’s to early 30’s and wearing a white short sleeved shirt and blue jeans. This incident is currently being investigated by officers of George Town Police Station Criminal Investigation Department.

Anyone with information about crime taking place in the Cayman Islands should contact their local police station or Crime Stoppers on 800-8477 (TIPS). 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.

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  1. Anonymous says:

    One of the real tragedies these petty criminals create is a social mistrust within the community. It is only a matter of time before one of these thugs will be severely hurt or killed and most likely the government will want to prosecute the homeowner. It will be the height of foolishness but you can see it in Cayman’s future. The family of the criminal will scream the outcry that he was a good boy but misunderstood and the killer(homeowner) must pay. There could be a prison term for the homeowner.

    When the citizens of a community do not feel protected by the police sooner or later they will take the law into their own hands.

    When will a criminal be caught and prosecuted, for goodness sake???

    • kd says:

      It is my understanding that if the burglar in question is injured/killed by the homeowner during an attempted robbery, it is considered self-defense under UK law. However, if there is a delay (even if it’s less than an hour) between the burglary & the injury/killing then that would be prosecutable. 

      • Gordon Barlow says:

        Well, I’m not sure you’re right.  My understanding is that a householder – as any other victim of a crime of violence – is entitled to use "appropriate" force only.  Killing a burglar would rarely be considered appropriate.  If he’s running away, I’m not sure you are allowed even to speed him on his way.  If you kicked him too hard he might be able to have *you* arrested.  You certainly don’t get an hour’s grace!

        • Attorney Bob says:

          You are quite right Gordon: reasonable defensive force only to an imminent threat. The moral of the story is that you only have until he retreats or hits the ground to inflict damage on the criminal. Unless he were threatening your life, killing him would be unjustifiable.

          Of course, any criminal confronting me in my home will make me perceive a threat to my life and the safety of my family, so I’ll use whatever force is needed to put the criminal down with finality, and I’ll sort out the legalities later.  If he dies, he dies.  My family’s safety is worth skipping the legal technicalities until they are secure.

          Attorney Bob

           

        • kd says:

          Beat me to the punch! 🙂 I forgot to include that it has to be deemed appropriate force only, i.e if he is trying to stab you & you shoot him, well, that’s just too bad for him now, isn’t it? That would be considered appropriate self-defense. On that same note, if someone were to break into your home unarmed & you shoot & kill them, then, yes, you can be prosecuted. This also is true if he runs away & you chase after him & then beat him or shoot him as he is running, that also would not be considered appropriate in court as he is no longer trying to harm you & is actually fleeing from the area. Running away is in keeping with the delay I mentioned previously. 

    • Anonymous says:

      Caymanian, let us unite and get the laws changed to allow we the  citizens of these Islands  the right to bare arms and defend ourselves from home intruders

      • Attorney Bob says:

        What about "…we the law-abiding guests of the Cayman people who are here on work permits and are concerned for our family’s safety due to the uncontrolled on-going crime wave, including home invasions"?  If we are excluded from protecting ourselves, we become the targets of choice. As an attorney, I promise responsible use of all permitted defensive weapons. Personally, I’ll be looking for a Glock 22 to help keep the peace(a full-size 40 cal automatic carrying 15 in the clip and one in the pipe). 

        There could also be a benefit to the economy, with required training in the safe use of firearms, plus gun sales and servicing, plus ammunition sales and range membership fees.  Just an added benefit.

      • Arnie the Comic says:

        You want to "bare" arms?  Take off your shirt.  Make them faint with a flex of your 24" biceps, just like I do. 

        Hang on, California needs me.  I’ll be back.

         

         

      • Naturist says:

        Do we get the right to bare anything else or just arms?

  2. Anonymous says:

    Criminals are enemies and traitors of this country. They need to be treated as such. They directly interfer with my rights as a citizen of this country. Petty crime attracts little attention from the authorities who seem to be getting used to these minor incidents. However that is the seed for crime growth. Unsolved minor criminal acts empowers criminals to bigger and bolder attempts. Education and good social manners are the key. However for this generation there is no time for that, they will not change in a short period of time. When so few end up terrorizing so many, regular citizens out of fear, will defend themselves with sever consequences for all involved.

    Neighborhood watches are okay. However I do not aggree 100% with the crime prevention suggestions from the Police. Improved locks, CCTV systems, alarmas, etcetera do not solve the problem. I do not want to live inside a forttress risking my skin every time I go to through the trash at night. We need more police duos walking the streets at night; they need to ask more questions to suspicious people. Police should have the right to ask you what are you doing here, where do you live and what is your name. Let the bad guys know that they are been watched! Otherwise, we will continue in the path to lawlessness so common to the other countries within our region. 

    • Anonymous says:

      You are right to point out that unsolved criminal acts empower criminals to future criminal actions. Unfortunately, the seeds for today’s criminal activity were planted over the last 20+ years. There has been a shockingly bad and lazy response to so called ‘petty crime’ periodically over this time. I know this as I have had very personal experience with it and have noted the "I don’t know why you are reporting this because we are not going to do anything about it" attitude of the police force.  Maybe the criminal was a relative of the policeman I was reporting to or maybe the response was just due to laziness. Either way, you reap what you sow. Forget to do the weeding and soon enough the weeds are so dominant you have a terrible time removing them. We are at that point – too many weeds that are too ingrained to remove easily. What a shame Cayman, I mourn the loss of the days we could leave everything unlocked.

       

      • Anonymous says:

        I doubt it was a matter of the criminal being a relative of the police officer.  In case you didn’t notice most of our police force are from other countries, not natives.

  3. Anonymous says:

    Unfortunately with our incompetent police service, this is what we are all going to have to do.  The police service only seem to be good at spotting out of date license coupons and stopping cars for speeding, two very easy catches.  If it involves any kind of detective work or exposing themselves to the slightest danger there is little hope!

  4. Heavy Cake says:

    If they come into my house, they will leave and leave alive, but they will get a good old fashioned Caymanian assin!

  5. Anonymous says:

     As more and more opportunities are denied to locals and board security gets poorer we will see things get worst in this little speck in the Caribbean sea.

  6. Anonymous says:

    I live in Palm Springs and even before this latest crime, the place had suffered a lot in this crime wave, a number of burglaries, bicycles stolen etc, types removed from cars. I hope to move to a safer place in the next few months. There are a few single women living alone in the complex which is really very brave of them. Added security measures seem to have had little effect. It’s such a shame because it’s a nice part of South sound.

  7. Anonymous says:

    Suprised the homeowners aren’t being prosecuted for using reasonable force and not letting the burglars in.

    Immigration will probably turn up and fine them for denying a young caymanian the opportunity to burgle their home.

    • Anonymous says:

       How do you know that the burglars are Caymanian?

    • Anonymous says:

      Who told you that they are Caymanians? Most of the time they are not. But  I tell you what and that is that the young Caymanians are  going to have to do whatever they can to earn a living  because folks like you have invaded their Country and captured their livelihood. Its because of statements like this that make Caymanians become resentful. Before our invasion we did not have breakins. Just remember that most of us now are half  breed caymanians and the bloods dosent mix well. Maybe our good friend Twyla can describe it better than I can.

      • Expat Professional says:

        "…folks like you have invaded their Country and captured their livelihood."

        That poster you reply to is a jackass, but remember that for every professional expat here there are usually a few Caymanians employed in that team, and there is supposed to be a Caymanian or 2 being trained to do the professional’s job (I am in the midst of doing just that), so stop blaming expats who generate economic activity and local employment here!!!  We don’t take jobs from locals – we give jobs to locals.  There was no Caymanian doing or available for my job when I came here and employed a team of Caymanians and started training my replacement, so quit insulting me for making your economic life better!

        NB – When the crime drives off all the professionals and the tourists, all Caymanians will be in much worse shape.

         

         

        • Anonymous says:

          Expat professional,  I am Caymanian and assure you that the animosity you refer to is not dircted at you. You are welcome. The problem and animosity arises because regrettably not every business has professionals who act as you do. The fact is that there are a number (perhaps even a large number) of employers that pretend and say they are making efforts to recruit and train Caymanians, when actually, the opposite is true. Faced with that reality, many Caymanians are becomming resentful and mistrustful. Both sides of the equation need to understand where the animosity is coming from, and act to resolve it. For example, if you are an HR manager in a big company, for example, and your boss (Caymanian or expat) tells you to hire the expat without considering the potentially qualified Caymanian applicants – report him or her. If you do not and proceed you are not only breaking the law – you are making the mistrust worse for everyone. 

    • Anonymous says:

       How do you know that the burglars are Caymanian?

    • Anonymous says:

      Isn’t your remark a bit racist since you don’t know that these are Caymanians.  There are quite a few other nationalities here who have no problem stealing, dealing drugs and guns, etc.  Yes, there are Caymanians who commit crimes but when Cayman was made up mostly Caymanians, not so many years ago, there was very little crime and if someone did break in, everyone else would tell you who it was.  I’m not Caymanian but I’m getting very  tired of everything being blamed on Caymanians. 

    • Backstroke says:

      "Surprised the homeowners"

       

      Its idiots like you that create dislike and animosity. I saw no joke in this, just a cynical empty minded idiot. If you are so unhappy here, why not do all of us a favor and catch the next flight out or the next banana boat. The whole world would be better of with out comments from the likes of you. These people could have been seriously hurt and you give a smart A*** comment.

    • Anonymous says:

      Ignorant posts like the one quoted below is unnecessary. The nationality of the burgulars was not disclosed in the news story and posts such as this only serve to fuel the animosity that continues to grow between locals and expatriates in this country. To also attack the Immigration department and local prosecutors with such a comment is reckless and unhelpful and so I suggest that you broaden your small mind and try to make meaningful comments that might assist with detering crime.

      Suprised the homeowners aren’t being prosecuted for using reasonable force and not letting the burglars in.

      Immigration will probably turn up and fine them for denying a young caymanian the opportunity to burgle their home."

    • Anonymous says:

      Who said these were young Caymanians? Let’s not assume.

  8. Anonymous says:

    Re: "no one required medical attention".  Too bad the burglars didn’t require major medical atttention – it’s just a matter of time.

    • Anonymous says:

      I agree. Its time for us all to get out baseball bats and clobber these robbers.

      I wonder if we defend ourselves the police will charge us for assult like the do in the states?

      • frank rizzo says:

        I’ll take that risk.

      • Afraid to Strap on a Pair Also says:

        When they enter your home  in the states you’ve got your license to ‘take out the trash.’  I find it bizarre that you people take even a valuable fraction of a second to consider the legal consequences when your lives are in danger.  A very ‘civil’ island indeed.

      • Fallen Angel says:

        I tried once before to post a few suggestions of my own on what one should do when you caught a burglar in your home but CNS prudently did not print it.

      • Anonymous says:

        you don’t get charged with assualt in the states retard!

      • Waving goodbye to the end of the Golden Age says:

        Not sure what TV station you get your US legal advice from.  In the States, the robbers’ remnants  would be carried out on stretchers with multiple 40 calibre holes in their front sides and various 4 inch holes in their backsides, and the occupier wouldn’t even have to go to the station to fill out a statement.

        Of course here the criminals are confident that the police can’t possible catch them, and even if they could the police would have screwed up the evidence so badly that no prosecuting attorney in the world could secure a conviction.

        See, that’s the difference between law order and personal security, and living in the Cayman Islands.

        Me personally?  Armed to the teeth with perfectly lawful but very lethal everyday household items…

        Shame Cayman turned out this way though.