BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – EACH year the Federation of St. Christopher and Nevis, much like many other countries the world over, experiences its fair share of criminal activity which sometimes results in death, injury, expense, heartache, psychological and or emotional trauma, and 2011 was no exception.
While some acts of criminality - though frowned upon and condemned - are expected, there are those which cause a chill to run through one’s body and which leave many to wonder, “How can anyone do such a thing?” or “Did that really happen?”
Take for example, the January 22 shooting of a bus driver who was doing some shopping in a Sandy Point supermarket.
It was minutes to 9:00 that evening when Dollar Stretcher Supermarket, the supermarket in which Vincent ‘Saga’ Jarvis was shopping, was entered by two armed, masked individuals who demanded that everyone hit the deck.
Jarvis, who failed to comply with the bandits’ demand, was reportedly shot in the face at close range after which the establishment was robbed of a large sum of money.
The 61-year-old wounded man was transported to the Joseph N. France General Hospital where he was treated.
The public was more than surprised and outraged when a 16-year-old had accused members of the St. Kitts Nevis Defence Force (SKNDF) of raping her. The officers were arrested on February 24 for allegedly committing the February 19 offence.
Reports suggest that the teenager was standing on the road which leads to Shadwell Estate sometime after 12:30 a.m. when a SKNDF vehicle pulled up next to her and a soldier ordered her to enter. She reportedly refused and was allegedly forced into the vehicle, taken to the Fort Thomas Hotel and allegedly raped by two members of the SKNDF.
Two officers were subsequently charged with the offence and the SKNDF had indicated that it was making investigations into the allegations.
A look at the article titled “Peacemaker loses hand in Spanish brawl” reminds of an incident where a native of Santo Domingo lost a part of his hand while he tried to promote an atmosphere of peace between two individuals.
The incident occurred on February 27 at Mi Sitio Spanish Bar, Pond Road, Newtown. Jesus Skelton was reportedly having a drink with someone in the bar when a fight broke out between two individuals. He is reported to have made an attempt to part the fight and one of the individuals “chopped off his left wrist with a machete”.
Skelton underwent surgery and one individual was taken into police custody to assist with the investigations and other persons of interest were being sought by the authorities.
Thirty-four homicides were recorded during 2011 and all were and continue to be of great concern to the people of St. Christopher and Nevis. However, on April 3, when the lifeless body of a 15-year-old girl was found at the C. A. Paul Southwell Industrial Site, it more than caused a stir.
The partially-nude body was that of Unique Browne of Wellington Road and she was found on the premises of Eustace Hobson & Associates. According to police sources, her body bore signs of violence and blood was found on her head and chest.
She was pronounced dead on the scene and an autopsy revealed that she died as a result of traumatic head injury.
“Our country should not be like this. We should not be living in fear in our own homes! What happened to my country?” were the words expressed by one individual having heard of the attack which was perpetrated against two women.
The women were sharing a conversation while on an Atlantic View, Conaree veranda when two masked gun-toting men demanded money from them. In addition to being bound at the hands, the women were robbed of jewellery, cellular phones and cash and one sexually assaulted.
The robbers made their escape in a vehicle which belonged to one of the woman and abandoned it along the West Basseterre By-pass Road in the Buckley’s area.
And who can forget the kidnapping of a banker and his wife?
Over the past couple of years, the incidences of kidnapping seemed to have increased and the most recent to have taken place (Oct. 27) was that of senior employee of the CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank Larry Vaughan and his wife Gilda Rawlins-Vaughan.
A sum of money was demanded from the couple and the husband was released to fetch a ransom from the bank, which was to be returned to the perpetrators before his wife could have been released.
Acting on intelligence, the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force (RSCNPF) extracted an unharmed Rawlins-Vaughan from an unoccupied house at East Park Range at about 5:00 a.m. on October 28 and a number of individuals were taken into custody.
Approximately four individuals were arrested and charged with the offence.
November 10 was the day this media house published an article indicating that a national footballer was arrested and charged after allegedly committing a sexual offence.
The young man was arrested on November 6 and subsequently charged with two counts of rape and two counts of unlawful knowledge which were said to have been committed in June and October 2011
Similar charges were preferred against a member of the RSCNPF who is accused of sexually assaulting a minor while she was in police custody with her brother. That alleged incident occurred on October 30 at the Cayon Police Station.
Co-owner of Bobsy’s Restaurant, Lynne Hawley was at her establishment at about 10:35 p.m. when three masked, armed individuals entered and robbed the establishment. She was able to escape from them by running into a room and locking the door behind her. And although the bandits fired a number of shots into the door, she still escaped the ordeal unharmed.
By all accounts, the Manager of TDC’s Maintenance Department, Curtis James, was simply driving to work on the morning of December 10. But something strange happened.
While driving along a Bird Rock road, a vehicle that was in front of his abruptly stopped and blocked his path. The driver of that vehicle reportedly disembarked, approached James’ and asked why he was following him.
The man reportedly drew a firearm and James, recognising the danger, drove around the vehicle that blocked his path. But during the process, the individual fired upon James’ vehicle which resulted in one of the bullets grazing his temple.
These are but a few of the jaw-dropping incidences that occurred within the Federation during 2011, and the RSCNPF have made inroads with their investigations into some of them.
