Archive for October 30th, 2008
Barber shop robber charged
(CNS): A teenager has been charged with two offences following an attempted robbery which took place at Wright’s Barber Shop in George Town on Thursday, 23 October. Romario Davis (18) of George Town appeared in court this morning charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm and attempted robbery.
He has been remanded to Northward prison. Another man Robert Terry (22) of Newlands, who was arrested in relation to this incident, also appeared in court charged with possession of ganja. He was bailed by the court. A third man, aged 20, also arrested in connection with the attempted robbery, has been released without charge.
The men were arrested after one of them sought meidcal attention for a stab wound he had received during the botched robbery attempt, at the George Town Hospital.
The owner of the barber shopwho called 911 said that three men, each wearing masks and carrying what appeared to be firearms, entered the shop and demanded money. A struggle ensued which resulted in one of the offenders being injured. The men had fled from the shop and made off in a vehicle towards the direction of Welly’s restaurant and no shots were fired.
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.
Two men charged with the murder of Estella
(CNS): A carpenter and a gardener have been charged with the murder of Estella Scott-Roberts. Larry Prinston Ricketts (25) and Kirkland Henry (27) both George Town residents appeared before Margaret Ramsey-Hale this morning and were remanded in custody. Both men were charged with robbery and abduction as well as murder, and Henry was also charged with an additional count of rape.
Police were unable to offer any comment on motives regarding the actions of the two men who were arrested by the RCIPS on Monday afternoon. In court the Solicitor General, Cheryll Richards, asked for the two accused to be remandedin custody because of the seriousness of the offences, the strength of the evidence and that as foreigners the men were a genuine flight risk.
Richards indicated that the men had recent possession of Scott-Roberts cell phones and there were specific forensics linking Henry to her. She also said the men had made detailed statements to the police.
With no legal representation but access to legal aid because of the severity of the offence, Ramsey Hale ordered that the men be taken to Northward and submit their legal aid requests and return before her on 6 November with legal counsel.
Speaking outside George Town Police Station early this morning announcing the charges, SIO Peter Kennett thanked the people and the media for their support since the murder. “The murder has rocked the Cayman Islands and sent shock waves throughout our community,” said Kennett. “Crime can not only be measured by the acts that place, but also by the reaction of the community in which they occur. The reaction we have seen since 11 October has been one of shock, disbelief, outrage and disgust. This is a testament to everyone that calls Cayman home. Our thoughts and prayers remain with Estella’s family. In particular, with her mother, Coreen, and her husband, Rayle.”
He added that this is a terrible time for everybody close to Estella, and even for those that did not know her. “Our condolences are sent to you all. This case is now subject to legal proceedings therefore, the RCIPS is not in a position to make any further comment,” Kennet concluded.
(CNS): A carpenter and a gardener have been charged with the murder of Estella Scott-Roberts. Larry Prinston Ricketts (25) and Kirkland Henry (27) both George Town residents appeared before Margaret Ramsey-Hale this morning and were remanded in custody. Both men were charged with robbery and abduction as well as murder and Henry was also charged with an additional count of rape.
Police were unable to offer any comment on motives regarding the actions of the two men who were arrested by the RCIPS on Monday afternoon. In court the Solicitor General, Cheryll Richards asked for two accused to be remanded in custody because of the seriousness of the offences, the strength evidence and that as foreigners the men were a genuine flight risk.
Richards indicated that the men had recent possession of Scott-Roberts cell phones and there was specific forensics linking Henry to her. With no legal representation but access to legal aid because of the severity of the offence Ramsey Hale ordered that the men be taken to Northward and submit their legal aid request and return before her on 6 November with legal counsel.
Speaking outside George Town Police Station early this morning announcing the charges, SIO Peter Kennett thanked the people and the media for their support since the murder. “The murder has rocked the Cayman Islands and sent shock waves throughout our community,” said Kennett. “Crime can not only be measured by the acts that place, but also by the reaction of the community in which they occur. The reaction we have seen since 11 October has been one of shock, disbelief, outrage and disgust. This is a testament to everyone that calls Cayman home. Our thoughts and prayers remain with Estella’s family. In particular, with her mother, Coreen, and her husband, Rayle.”
He added that this is a terribletime for everybody close to Estella, and even for those that did not know her. “Our condolences are sent to you all. This case is now subject to legal proceedings therefore, the RCIPS is not in a position to make any further comment,” Kennet concluded.
Donnie Ebanks chose JP
(CNS): During his 124 page ruling stating that the search warrants served on Justice Alex Henderson were unlawful, Sir Peter Cresswell the presiding Judicial Review judge raised particular concerns over the selection of justice of the peace (JP) Carson Ebanks to sign the warrants, who it was revealed, was recommended by the Deputy Chief Secretary.
Reading from Martin Bridger’s affidavit, (Senior Investigating Officer of Operation Tempura) Cresswell an expert judge brought especially to hear the case from the UK by the Governor, said he was concerned by Bridger’s explanation for why he selected a JP.
Bridger had stated: “I did not have sufficient confidence in the judiciary of the Grand Court. I spoke to the oversight group about this and Donnie Ebanks the Deputy Chief Secretary suggested a list of three Justices of the Peace who would be suitable.”
It was made clear that Carson Ebanks, Chief Officer in the Ministry of Public Works was one of the three JPs recommended by Donovan Ebanks, Deputy Chief Secretary. There are some 168 JPs in Cayman many of which do have professional legal qualifications and experience in the law. Carson Ebanks however, admits that he has never been on the JP’s training course, attended any workshops for lay JPS or sat in court and at most would issue five warrants in a year.
His inexperience was highlighted by Cresswell who said the extraordinary applications for search warrants should have been made to the Grand Court and not a JP. He also criticised the obvious implication that the investigating officers had deliberately selected a particular JP. “I am troubledby the selection of a particular justice of the peace as ‘suitable’” the Judge added.
“Mr Bridger knew that the complexity of the issues in the earlier applications for warrants, in respect of three other persons, had required several hearings and led to Reasons extending to 51 pages. How could a justice of the peace be expected to deal with similarly exceptional and complex applications on police premises in a short space of time?” asked Cresswell.
He indicated that Bridger could have asked the Chief Justice to appoint a visiting judge to hear the applications. Smellie had indicated he would do so in his rulings earlier in the year regarding when he declined the search warrants for Police Commissioner Stuart Kernohan and Chief Superintendent John Jones.
“If Mr Bridger’s affidavit is to be read as suggesting that the Chief Justice would not have acted professionally if he had been approached to allocate a judge to hear the matter, such a suggestion is, in my opinion, wholly unwarranted,” added Cresswell. “Even, if contrary to my view, it was appropriate to make the applications for the search warrants to a justice of the peace, the applications to the respondent were contrary to good practice.”
Carson Ebanks stated that Donovan Ebanks had asked him to attend the offices of the special enquiry team which Cresswell said was wrong and it served to undermine the independence that a JP should maintain. If it was necessary to apply for the warrant after hours the police Creswell noted, should have gone to Ebanks’ home.
The judge also raised concerns that Donovan Ebanks had “advised” Carson Ebanks that the Governor was aware of the matter. Cresswell explained that the Governor appoints JPs so the statement could have had an inappropriate effect and he says should not have been made.
“It was obvious to any fair-minded police officer that the respondent (Ebanks) was out of his depth,” Cresswell said. “The respondent did not have independent legal advice available to him. The respondent could not be expected to have any knowledge of the ingredients of the offence of misconduct in public office contrary to common law or the law of contempt.”
During his ruling Creswell makes various recommendations about how justices of the peace should be assisted in future and to avoid having them issue search warrants in complex situations. Speaking after the case closed, Shaun McCann of Campbells from Henderson’s legal team noted that while the ruling to quash the warrants was important to his client it was also important to the jurisdiction as a whole for numerous reasons and the issue over JPs was one.
“The Judge has set out the procedures for JPs with regards information and what a proper police officer should do,” he said.
Glidden condemns CUC advantage in power bids
(CNS): The decision to allow CUC to compete with potential new companies bidding to supply Grand Cayman’s additional electricity needs has been severely criticised by Clyne Glidden, Opposition United Democratic Party MLA and former Chairman of the Electricity Regulatory Authority. Glidden said the RFP which invites companies to bid to supply an additional 32 Mega Watts of power generation by 2012 encourages CUC to utilise its inherent advantages.
“The Government has not displayed a serious commitment to competition in the long run. By allowing CUC to bid and control the process, it encourages CUC to utilise its inherent advantages to fend off potential competitors,” the West Bay member said.“In the long run this will only ensure that we are held hostage by a single provider and that cannot be good for the Caymanian consumer."
CUC currently supplies roughly 100 Mega Watts of power to Grand Cayman so this additional capacity covered by the bid represents roughly a 30 percent growth in power generation on the island.
Glidden argued that in the coming 10 to 15 years given the current pace of economic growth it is possible that the electricity needs could be nearly doubled and the country would still be left with only one provider for delivery of this additional electricity if the Government does not introduce competition in power generation in the country. He also warned that there are other issues within the RFP that provides an inherent advantage to CUC in being the ultimate winner of the bid.
“There is no point telling the public that we are offering competition in power generation if the conditions of the RFP do not explicitly encourage that” he said.
Referring to one of the provisions in the RFP he explained that even if the Electricity Regulatory Authority were to select a new company as the top bidder, the agreement requires that the bidder then enter into a separate negotiation with CUC for the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) before the new company can proceed.
Glidden explained that due to the way the RFP is written, it means that if those negotiations were unsuccessful CUC would then start new negotiations with another firm and so on. CUC could essentially use this as leverage to have an unfair advantage in negotiating the PPA.
“To prevent this unfair competitive advantage the ERA should firstly licence the new provider and then act as an arbitrator to ensure that the PPA is equitable for all parties. The ERA role is crucial in ensuring that CUC as the incumbent does not abuse its monopoly position as a generator as well as distributor of electricity,” he added. “There is no incentive for CUC to work out its negotiations with the selected bidder, assuming that winner bidder is not CUC. And what happens if CUC decides that it cannot come to an agreement with any of the firms? Do we end up with the status quo with CUC as the provider?”
Governor invites nominees for Royal gongs
(CNS): The people of the Cayman Islands are being invited to submit nominations for the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2009. H.E the Governor Stuart Jack is inviting members of the public to submit nominations by Friday 21 November 2008. And while the honours remain popular in the Cayman Islands they have come in for much criticism over the years in other jurisdictions, with people such as Poet Benjamin Zephaniah (left) refusing them.
While Cayman seems content to keep making nominations and accepting the awards, Royal Honours have been criticised in other jurisdictions and especially by people from the Caribbean community living in the UK. Many recipients have even gone as far as refusing the honours because of their connection to the concept of empire and slavery, as well as the issue of elitism and snobbery.
Poet Benjamin Zephaniah famously made the headlines in the UK in 2003 when he explained why he had turned one down: "I get angry when I hear that word ’empire’: it reminds me of slavery, it reminds me of thousands of years of brutality," he had said.
Actress Honor Blackman, musician David Bowie, writers JB Priestley, Graham Greene and Roald Dahl all rejected awards. Alan Bennett has rejected both a knighthood and a CBE for services to literature, but the most persistent refusenik, as they have been termed, was the British painter LS Lowry, who turned down five awards, including a knighthood.
For those who think their nominations are unlikely to refuse, forms can be collected from the reception desk of the Government Administration Building or requested by e-mail from mandy.heffield@fco.gov.uk. Nominators are asked to make every effort to fully complete all the relevant sections. Once completed, the forms should be submitted, under confidential cover, to the Governor’s Office. While all recommendations will be acknowledged, the Governor’s Office cannot enter into correspondence about the action taken on them.
For any further information please contact the Governor’s Office on 244 2401.