BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A Kittitian businessman, who resides in New York but regularly returns to his homeland to check upon his two business entities, has cleared the air on his arrest by the police in connection with the Thursday night (Jan. 26) shooting death of Elvis Stanley.
Clayton Carl Thomas, popularly known as Massive, proprietor of the Family & Friends Bar & Grill on The Frigate Bay Strip, was arrested at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday (Jan. 29) as he was about to board a flight to the USA and taken to the Frigate Bay Police Station for questioning.
In an exclusive interview with SKNVibes, Thomas gave a detailed account about what transpired and noted that his aim in doing so was to dispel rumours that were being pedalled in St. Kitts alleging that he was involved in orchestrating Stanley’s death.
“I have been residing in New York for the past 18 years but I return once a month to check on my two businesses - a bar on The Strip and a store on Fort Street.
“On this last trip I had a death in my family, so I came for the funeral last Monday (Jan. 23) and I was leaving the Federation on Sunday (Jan. 29). However, on Thursday night (Jan. 26), I was at my business place, a normal Strip night, and I was having a meeting with my new head chef and a publicist who wanted me to promote my business on the Internet.”
Thomas said the night was very windy and he told one of his employees to pull in the gate at the front entrance to the bar, but to leave it ajar so that patrons could have entered.
“Just about 11:30, I observed a gentleman had entered the business place and the man who I was talking to told me that he knew the guy while he was employed as a warder at her Majesty’s Prison. He told me that the guy was very slick and he should be kept under observation. The former prison warder called him over to us and asked him how he was doing, and the guy said he was just hanging out having a drink.
“However, at about 11:40 five police officers who were patrolling the area ran and came to me and said, ‘Hey, Massive, Massive you okay…you okay?’ I answered in the affirmative and asked them what happened. In response, one of the officers said, ‘We just heard about four to five shots fired so we come to see if you are okay, because we know we had just left you down here.’ I told them that I was fine and I continued with my meeting.
“Shortly after, about a minute or so, the officers returned and one of them said, ‘Massive we need a ride. We have been trying to call the squad car and there are a lot of sirens going up The Strip on the opposite side of the Frigate Bay Road and we need to see what is going on.’ So I immediately abandoned the meeting, squeezed them in my vehicle and headed up the one way on The Strip. While driving up The Strip, I saw the Frigate Bay Police vehicle, an ambulance and an undercover police vehicle coming in the opposite direction. The driver of the forward vehicle flashed his lights for me to stop. I did and told them that I had a number of police officers with me and I was taking them to the patrol vehicle.”
The businessman claimed that after giving the officers that explanation, he made a u-turn and he and the five occupants came out of the vehicle.
“The officers then entered Ziggy’s Bar and a couple of others to enquire if the shots were fired in their business places. After confirming no shots were fired there, we got back into the vehicle, followed the convoy and everyone was observing for any unusual movement of people. When we turned onto Anchorage Road after passing Buddy’s, we saw Elvis’ car was parked by the container. We came out of the vehicle and I drew my licenced firearm and assisted the police in combing the area.
“After searching the area for a short while, I asked some of the officers to run back to my bar with me so that I can secure it, because the situation definitely seemed as if somebody was trying to rob the business owners on The Strip. The police accompanied me and waited until me and my employees had secured the establishment.
“On returning to the scene where I had left my vehicle’s lights on to assist the police in their investigation, I attempted to remove the vehicle and they requested that I leave it with the lights on until other police vehicles arrive. I did as they requested and when the forensic officer came he asked me to remove my vehicle and I went back to my bar.”
Thomas explained that according to information he gained from some individuals who were on The Strip at that time, a car of a certain colour had stopped in front of Stanley’s bar, which is in proximity to his, and an individual had disembarked.
He noted that the individual was the same person who went into his bar to hang out and have a drink.
“I was also told that another vehicle was also parked nearby, and after Elvis had closed for business and was backing out his vehicle, the car of a certain colour drove off. Shortly after Elvis drove off, the other vehicle that was parked nearby pulled out behind him. A few minutes later, both vehicles were seen travelling at a very fast rate along The Strip breaching the one-way,” he added.
Thomas told this publication that he was still shaken by Stanley’s death on the following morning and that he did not want to open for business.
“You see, although we were competitors, Elvis and I were very close. The Ross University students would go by him regularly to play volleyball on the beach and purchase their drinks from him, but he does not sell food and they would come across to my bar, purchase my food and use my bathroom. In other words, Elvis and I had a very amicable business arrangement…we were friends,” he said.
He said he was feeling down and had decided to go and rest, but on his return returned to the bar that night he saw a number of Ross students and they told him that they wanted to hear some country music.
“So I took out my laptop and provided them with what they wanted to hear, as they listened and were discussing the tragedy.”
Thomas also said, “That same day, while I was sitting outside my bar reminiscing on the Thursday night’s incident, I got a phone call from a certain guy who said, ‘Yo Massive, where you at?’ I said that I was at The Strip and the guy said, ‘There’s talk on the street that like you plot to kill Elvis so you could get he bar and the Ross students.’ So I said how can I get the bar? These bars take seven to eight years to acquire and you have to apply to the Frigate Bay Development Board to get it…it doesn’t work like that. The guy continued: ‘Boy dat is the talk up de beach you know.’ I then said, ‘Boy, where are you, let me come and see you right now because I believe that it is you who are spreading that rumour.’ Suddenly he cut off the phone and I immediately called my wife in New York and told her that I don’t like what is being said about me.”
Thomas stated that while he was driving along The Strip later that day, he saw the person who had called him on the phone and he confronted him.
“I said to him, ‘That call that you gave me, I don’t appreciate it…don’t call my name in that foolishness.’ He tried to blame other people, but I gave him a very stern warning to desist from spreading wild rumours involving my name.”
Recapping what occurred at the RLB International Airport on Sunday, Thomas said, “While at the airport waiting to board a flight back to New York, I recognised two CID officers and I saw Inspector Richardson when she went to the airline counter and I had a gut feeling that something was not right. However, when I approached the desk and gave a female immigration officer my passport, she gave me back my ticket but not my passport and told me, ‘Hold on, don’t move, my supervisor wants to talk to you.’
“Shortly after, Ms. Richardson came with the two CID officers and one of them asked if I remembered him and I responded in the negative. He then said, ‘You remember a couple of years ago when I worked on a case when a certain officer had robbed you?’ I told him that I remembered that case, and he told me that I could not go on the flight and that I had to go with them to the station. I was shocked and I said, ‘You can’t tell me that I can’t go on the flight…are you serious?’ I thought that he was joking but the officer repeated that I had to go with them. I asked for what reason, and he said, ‘It is for the situation that happened on the beach. We got some information and we need to talk to you.’
“He then asked me how many bags I was carrying on the flight and I told him two and they retrieved them. I then turned to him and said, ‘Officer, you really come up here to embarrass me like that? You guys know me. You guys know who I am. If you had to talk to me couldn’t you come to me before I checked in? You are bringing this embarrassment on me…a man like me who worked with the police? I don’t deal with crime!’ He retorted, ‘If I had come here to embarrass you I would have put the cuffs on you.’
Thomas said that the officers took him to the Frigate Bay Police Station at approximately 2:00 p.m. and put him to sit on a bench while they filled out a form. They told him that they were leaving the station but would be back.
“After the CID officers left the station, another officer said that they had to put me in the cell and I asked if I was under arrest. The officer said I was not but they were just holding me for questioning. I was flabbergasted to know that from being in a room at the Marriott Hotel to going and travel business class and now in a cell in my own country,” Thomas said.
He noted that while in the cell, and even before then, they did not tell him the main reason for being there. He however stated that it was not until Monday evening he knew why they had arrested him.
“At 1:00 on Monday afternoon Chesley Hamilton came and told me that my mother and father had retained him and advised that it was my constitutional right not to say anything. So when the investigating officers came about 4:00 p.m., I was in a state of mind not to say anything as advised. However, I am not a fool and if they had wanted a written record of what I had to say, then I would not have said anything. But one of the officers, who said his name was Smithen, told me that they had me arrested for the shooting incident and wanted to know what relationship existed between Elvis and I.
“I told him that Elvis and I were great. I even mentioned that three weeks ago when I came to St. Kitts I had brought him a new laptop because he didn’t have any music. I also told him that we never had any problem…we were competitors but we were friends. I further told him that hours before Elvis’ demise I was over at his bar talking with him and Maria and had even joked with him concerning some fish that he caught.
“Smithen then asked me how the relationship was business wise and I told him that everybody knows that the Ross students go by Elvis, but the greatest thing is that when they go by him to drink and play volleyball, they would come by me to eat.
“I even went as far as to tell Smithen that this week the Ross students want to organise a tribute to Elvis in an effort to raise some funds for his family and that I promised to donate some money and contribute the use of my bar and whatever else they needed to make the event a success. I also told him that I made it known to the students that I would not be there for the event, but I would direct my staff to give them the same respect as if I were present.
“After explaining that to the officers, they asked me how I knew the guy who came into my bar to hang out and have a drink on the night that Elvis was killed. I told them that I don’t know the guy and that somebody had pointed him out to me. They then asked me about the other guy in the car that drove off in front of Elvis and I told them I didn’t know who was driving the car.
“The officer then said, ‘You know what, we are not going to bullshit you and we are not going to sugarcoat anything…you are free to go.’ Again, I went against what the attorney said, but had I withheld anything from them I would have still been incarcerated until 72 hours had expired. So, it was in my best interest to do so, seeing that the officers were genuine enough to talk to me and were not taking a statement,” Thomas said.
When asked if he were one of the two men arrested on suspicion of Stanley’s murder, Thomas replied in the negative and said those men were still in custody at the Basseterre Police Station.
Stanley, who was the proprietor of Elvis Love Shack Bar & Grill, was shot to death shortly before midnight on Thursday (Jan. 26) while driving his vehicle along the Anchorage Road in Frigate Bay.
Information reaching this publication stated that after closing his Bar & Grill Stanley, his child’s mother and his teenage son were in his car travelling along Anchorage Road on their way home when the incident occurred.
This media house learned that midway along that road, a vehicle that was in front of Stanley’s slowed down, blocked his path and while he was tooting his horn an unidentified individual emerged from the bushes on the right and opened fire on the occupants.
Stanley was shot and he died on the spot.
His child’s mother, who was seated on the passenger’s side of the car, was also shot and shortly thereafter rushed to the JNF General Hospital where she underwent emergency surgery and is said to be in stable condition.
One of the bullets grazed his son on his right thigh and he managed to open the door and ran to a friend who resides at the St. Christopher Club.
The teenager was taken to the hospital shortly before 2:00 a.m., where he was treated for his wound and discharged.
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