Archive for December, 2009
Kids in anti-violence demo
(CNS): Children from the West Bay Primary School and John A Cumber came together last week to make a clear statement against violence and organised for a steam roller to come to the school and crush toy guns and violent video games, News 27 reports.The kids, teachers and parents hope to send a message against the violent crimes occurring in the Cayman community. School principal, Joseph Wallace, said that even if the demonstration of anti-violent sentiment reached just one person their rally it was worth it.
Ricketts’ lawyer says government owes legal aid bills
(CNS): The attorney representing one of the men accused of murdering Estella Scott-Roberts in October of 2008 told the court on Friday that his firm’s legal aid bills have not been paid and are well over the due date. Lee Freeman from Priestleys told Justice Alex Henderson that he had taken over the case in July and so far had not received any payment for his work representing Larry Ricketts. Freeman added that his firm was concerned about two bills, one submitted back in September, which represented the larger of the two, and one in November, and although they had both been cleared there was still no payment.
He said it was of particular concern as the firm now also had to find the money to pay for the work permit for Ricketts’ QC, who would be arriving in January to begin preparing for the January trial, as well as the leading counsel’s travel and accommodation costs, despite not having received any payment. Justice Charles Quin acknowledged Freeman’s concerns and said he would look into the matter for him.
The issued was raised during a brief mention on Friday, 18 December, in Grand Court prior to the trial, which is currently scheduled to start on 26 January. The mention was to confirm that both the accused men now have QCs as lead counsel and are fully represented as well as to ensure that disclosure details had all been addressed between the prosecution and the defence.
Kirsty–Ann Gunn, speaking for the crown, told the judge that the trial was scheduled for three weeks but that four would be a more likely scenario. It was also confirmed that the two co-defendants have yet to elect a judge alone or jury trial for the charges laid against them of murder, robbery, abduction, and in the case of Kirkland Henry, the rape of Estella Scott Roberts in October 2008.
The two men were remanded back in custody until14 January when they will be asked by the court to declare whether they will choose trial by jury or a judge. The two men pleaded not guilty to the charges in January of last year. They have been in custody at HMP Northward since their arrest in October 2008, just over two weeks after the body of Scott-Roberts, a local activist against domestic abuse and a leading advocate of women’s rights, was discovered in her own burned out car in the Barkers area of West Bay on 11 October.
Woman run over inside her house
(CNS): The family of a 68-year-old woman who is in hospital recovering after being run over in afreak accident say they are just thankful she is alive. Family members told CNS that the woman’s son accidentally pushed the gas pedal instead of the breaks as he was backing up to the house on Ryan’s Road, off Crew Road, George Town, at around 12:35 Friday morning, and his car smashed through the front door and ran into the family drawing room.
The woman was trapped under the car inside her home but her husband and son were unable to free her. The husband flagged down a passing car and the driver helped them lift the car up so she could move enough that they could pull her out.
Emergency services arrived and the woman was taken to the George Town Hospital, where she is recovering from a serious injury to her hand and a bruised lung. Her family said Saturday that she was sitting upright and talking to them but they were all shocked that the accident happened.
In another incident, the driver of a Honda Civic was taken to hospital with non-life threatening leg injuries following a two-car accident at around 7:40 pm Friday 18 December near the Bodden Town Primary School. Police said enquiries are ongoing.
Turks & Caicos governor signs islands off grey list
(Turks and Caicos Sun): The Turks and Caicos Islands has been taken off the Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) grey list and has now been placed on the white list following a series of signature agreements penned by Governor Gordon Wetherell, who is now on an overseas trip. To be on the white list, a country needs to sign at least 12 TIEAs, and up to recently, the Turks and Caicos Islands remained behind in signing the agreements. Being on the white list means that the Turks and Caicos Islands has met the financial standards of the OECD and is now regarded as a transparent and reputable financial centre.
Civvies appointed to new government boards
(CNS): Nine members of the public have been appointed to sit as the civil representatives on three of the new boards created under the new constitution. Dan Scott and Brigitte Kirkconnell-Shaughness will serve on the National Security Council, and Carl Dundas, Norman Bodden, and Adriannie Webb will serve on the electoral boundary commission. Four appointments have also been made to the Advisory Committee on the Prerogative ofMercy: Beulah McField, Pastor Stanwyk Myles, Pastor Davelee Tibbetts, and Arek Joseph.
The three-person Electoral Boundary Commission is established under Section 88 of the Constitution and requires that the governor appoint the Chairman of the EBC in his own discretion. The other two commissioners are appointed separately: one on the advice of the Premier, and one the advice leader of the opposition. Dundas is a distinguished expert in the field of elections and was the first director of elections in Jamaica in 1979-80. Since then has worked in more than 30 countries in the Caribbean, Africa, and the Pacific on election management, electoral reform, and on numerous ways to strengthen the vital links between democracy and free and fair elections. Dundas is no stranger to the Cayman Islands having chaired the 2003 Electoral Boundary Commission, during which Webb served with him as an electoral boundary commissioner.
Appointments to this body will be for renewable terms of between two to four years, with members serving for different periods, so that new appointments or re-appointments can take place in a staggered fashion.
Armed robber hits gas station
(CNS): Yet another Grand Cayman gas station has been hit by an armed robber. At about noon today (Friday 18 December) a female cashier was working within the Jack’s Esso gas station in Frank Sound Road, North Side, when a man entered the station shop armed with what appeared to be a handgun. The suspect approached the cashier, presented the firearm and demanded cash. He was last seen running towards the rear of the premises with a small amount of money. Police said that no shots were fired and no-one was injured as a result of the incident.
Bodden Town detectives are now investigating the armed robbery and say the man believed to be responsible is around 5’7” in height with a brown complexion. He was wearing long blue jean pants, a long sleeved blue shirt and had a t-shirt over his face. DC Edwards is appealing for anyone who may have witnessed the robbery or the man fleeing the scene to contact Bodden Town CID on 947-2220.
Ministry keeping mum on school violence
(CNS): The Education Ministry is so far being tight lipped about the violent incident at a government school in November that led to a 13-year-old student being flown to Jamaica with head injuries, reportedly after rocks were thrown at him. Despite assurances to CNS that an explanation of the event would be forthcoming early this week, there is still no word almost one month after the boy was injured at the George Hicks High School. According to police, two boys, aged 13 and 14, have been charged with actual bodily harm in connection with the incident. Police say that the alleged assault took place at 10:20am on Monday, 23 November, at the school campus. (Picture courtesy News 27)
CNS has repeatedly asked the ministry for more information since we were informed of the incident on 3 December by a member of the public. Last week, Deputy Chief Officer Christen Suckoo said, “We have been in discussions with stakeholders regarding this topic specifically and violence in schools generally. Therefore we have decided to hold off until early next week so that we can include more relevant information for the public.”
However, as government schools break for the Christmas holidays today (Friday), there has still been no word on how exactly violence in schools is being addressed.
In early December Education Minister Rolston Anglin told News 27, “Every time something serious happens it will cause people to question and it will cause parents to worry … What I can assure them is that we are doing everything we can in terms of putting in resources and working with the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service to provide the schools with the type of support that it needs to keep the school environment safe.” No details of what actions have been taken or resources deployed have emerged since the minister gave these vague assurances.
Following a stabbing incident at the John Gray High School on Wednesday, 25 November, in which a girl received two non-life threatening lacerations to her chest, apparently with a pocketknife, the ministry issued a detailed explanation of the incident. It is not clear why, in the George Hicks incident, the ministry has so far been silent.
With the schools constructions projects in limbo, overcrowding at the high school campuses is set to worsen, which will do nothing to ease the tension at the two campuses. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly in early December, Anglin said that it was government’s position that that plans would be announced shortly on the way forward on the schools projects. (See School projects in limbo)
An outline of the plans has not yet been forthcoming.
Academic courses to be offered to police
(CNS): Future recruits to the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service will be awarded a foundation Certificate in Policing Studies that could lead police officers to a degree or masters qualification, a release from the RCIPS announced today, describing this development as a ground-breaking partnership between police and the University College of the Cayman Islands. Later today, Friday 18 December, details of the new collaboration to introduce new policing qualifications for the force will be unveiled by Police Commissioner David Baines, when he attends a police recruit graduation ceremony in George Town.
Police say this brand new approach to training will mean that when police recruits have successfully completed their two year initial training they will be awarded a foundation Certificate in Policing Studies. The partnership approach signals a change in the way that training is undertaken by the police and demonstrates the ongoing commitment of RCIPS towards the personal and professional development of its staff.
The new qualification would ensure a firm foundation for future studies, leading to a degree or masters qualification. It is anticipated that this initiative will be introduced by the middle of 2010 and that all recruits to the RCIPS from that date will be enrolled as students of UCCI whilst in their probationary period.
“I am delighted and wholeheartedly endorse this move to further professionalize policing in the Cayman Islands,” Baines said. The skills required of officers are increasingly complex and this initiative will ensure their training and skills are recognized not just in policing, but as a transportable qualification and evidence of personal ability.”
UCCI President Roy Bodden said, “The collaboration between the University College of the Cayman Islands, and the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service sets the template for future relations between UCCI and the community organizations. We at UCCI welcome this opportunity and look forward to a fruitful and productive association with the RCIPS.
“This collaboration comes at an opportune time, UCCI having just recently launched its Bachelor of Science degree (BSc) in the social sciences. With minor modifications, this programme can be modified to cater to the special needs of the RCIPS. UCCI looks forward with eager anticipation to servicing the educational needs of the Caymanian community. As President, I commend the RCIPS for their visionary and modern approach to policing in a changing Caymanian society.”
Senior cop says legislation needed to protect witnesses
(CNS): The issue of reluctant witnesses continues to be a major stumbling block in the fight against crime in the Cayman Islands. Detective Chief Inspector Peter Kennett from the RCIPS says no witnesses are coming forward in the murder of Carlo Webster, who was shot in the head in a crowded night club. News 27 reports that Kennett says the country needs legislation to protect witnesses who are afraid of coming forward to give evidence but could help solve crime and put perpetrators behind bars. Webster was shot to death in the Next Level night club in front of a reported 150 people.
It’s been 3-months since the shooting and three people were arrested, but no charges were laid. In a statement to News 27, Kennett said witnesses are just not coming forward. He thinks the situation would be different if there was legislation guaranteeing the protection of witnesses.
Kennett also says the Cayman Islands are facing an increase in the reluctance of people who are not prepared to give evidence and support justice. Without the help of the public, it is very difficult to solve crime.
There have already been a number of reports of witness intimidation in the case against the three men charged with killing Omar Samuels in George Town in July, the murder that triggered the gangland style tit-for-tat killings of Webster, Marcus Ebanks in West Bay and Fabian Ried in Newlands .
Police say they are still investigating the murder of Webster and the other victims and are asking anyone who can give information to come forward.
Trial takes unexpected twist
(CNS): Following legal submissions from both crown and defence counsel in the trial of Randy Martin for the murder of Sabrina Schirn, the judge ruled that evidence from a reluctant witness, which the crown believes offered a possible motive for the killing, could be read to the court on Thursday. Even though the defence could not cross examine the witness on the statement, the judge said the statement was significant enough to be admitted in the interest of justice. The testimony revealed that the defendant believed that Schirn was somehow involved in the attempted murder of his brother, Fernando Martin, by Sheldon Brown.
The witness, who had told the court on Wednesday that she was too afraid for her life to give evidence, was excused by Justice Charles Quin on Thursday morning following his ruling that she had sufficient grounds to be afraid. However, in the interests of justice and because of what he said was the significance of her statement, he also ruled that he would allow the crown to read the witness statement to the court, even though it would mean the defence team could not question the truth of the testimony. The judge said that, as a result of that, he would be required to balance the evidence knowing that it was not subject to cross examination.
Following the judge’s ruling, Cheryll Richards, the solicitor general who is prosecuting the case on behalf of the crown, read the short but nevertheless surprising statement, which for the first time in four weeks of crown witnesses offered a possible motive for Martin to have killed Schirn on 11 March 2009.
The statement came from a former girlfriend of Martin’s, who spoke with the police in April of this year during the investigation. The woman had related an isolated incident that she had witnessed to the officers, which probably took place in 2007. She said that when she and Martin were together one evening they had visited a George Town bar, where they encountered Schirn. The witness said she knew Schirn as they had attended the same school and had been friends but had not spoken for quite some time. However, on this occasion, Martin told the witness that he knew Schirn as well and said that that she had something to do with the shooting up of his brother, Fernando, by Sheldon Brown.
No details were given in the statement about what Martin had implied but the witness went on to reveal that she left the bar for a short period. When she came back she saw Martin arguing with Schirn before he pushed her head into the food she was eating.
Following the reading of the statement, Richards asked the judge to also look at a news clippings that had been admitted in evidence earlier in the trial, which were taken from Martin’s cell, that referred to the appeal of Sheldon Brown over the his attempted murder conviction for the defendant’s brother, James Fernado Martin.
Brown received a 22 year sentence for the offence, which took place in August 2004 at the Cayman Islander Hotel. His appeal for the conviction was rejected in November 2008. During the trial Fernando Martin claimed Brown had shot him because he had been a witness in a previous case against Brown for which he was acquitted.
The trial resumes on Friday morning with the return of crown witness, RCIPS officer Lauriston Burton, who was second in command of the investigation under SIO Kim Evans and has been asked by the defence to demonstrate what actions were taken regarding the conflicting testimony given by previous witnesses, in particular Lance Myles, who the defence claims had both the motive and opportunity to murder Schirn.