Masked men terrorise Ponds Pasture family;
Police Officer given nine days to live

By Stanford Conway
Editor-in-Chief-SKNVibes.com

Ready for battle

Sometime after 1600 hours on Saturday, July 12, security officers cordoned a section of Ponds Pasture after receiving reports of an unidentified male seen lurking in a clump of bushes in the vicinity of a home, where the safety of its occupants is constantly threatened.

To all appearances, the man whom the law enforcement officers sought had already dispersed from the area. However, SKNVibes was at the scene and learnt that the single-parent headed family is under threat because of a male relative who also resides in the home.

It was disclosed that at about 2115 hours on Monday, July 7, while in bed, the head of the household heard the sound of cracking glass in her living room. “I came out of bed, turned on the lights, looked through the window facing the Paddock and saw a man jumping the fence on the western side of the house.”

The woman said the intruder ran away and she called a male family friend who subsequently alerted the police.

“The police arrived about 15 minutes after, and when I opened the door to speak to them I saw a heap of clothes spread on the verandah in front of the door. The clothes belong to my brother, he is a police officer, and they were stolen from off the line sometime in March this year.”

The distraught woman said the pieces of clothing included some of her brother’s uniforms and they were taken away by the police. She also stated that one of the windows was cracked.

Recounting her frightening ordeal, the woman said two days after the incident while she was in downtown Basseterre, the intruder returned and broke the glass of one of her bedroom windows but failed in his attempt to enter the building because her daughter was at home.

“It was about 3:00 p.m. when I returned home and my daughter told me that she heard glass was breaking in my bedroom. On checking, she saw a man dressed in black clothing running away from the house. We called the police and they took statements from me and my daughter.”

The tormented woman recalled that on the night of Friday, July 11, the report of a gunshot was heard just outside of her home and she immediately ordered her children to lie on the floor while she hid in the bathroom.  “I do not know if it was intended for us, but it sounded close to our home.”

She indicated that shortly after, she heard a strange sound at her front door. “When I peeped outside I saw a masked man dressed in black writing something on the verandah in front of my door. I immediately called at the Basseterre Police Station and reported what was happening, but a female officer said no vehicle was available at the time.

“All the while,” she continued, “the man was out there. I called again about 30 minutes after and she told me the same thing. I then called my friend, who in turn called the police on four occasions and got the same response. However, on his fifth call he was told that the police are on their way, but by that time the man was no longer on the verandah. He ran from the verandah and went into the Paddock.”

~~Adz:Left~~The woman stated that her brother arrived before the investigating officers and noticed the writing on the verandah read, “Police yo dead.” She further stated that the police searched within the Newtown Paddock and its surrounding but did not see the intruder.

On the following day, shortly after 1600 hours, a neighbour informed her that a suspicious looking man was seen lurking in a clump of bushes in an empty lot next to her home. Fearing for their safety, the woman once again called the police who quickly responded, but failed to capture the man.

The seemingly ever-persistent returned the night with another man [both masked and dressed in black] while the household was asleep. The woman however awoke to a strange noise. “On checking in the direction from which the sound was made, I saw a hand attempting to remove the glass from one of my bedroom windows. I went closer to the window and saw two masked men dressed in black and one of them said, ‘You talk too much’.

She said she was paralysed with fear but soon after regained her composure and went into the sitting room to gain access to her telephone to summon the police.

“When I was about to pick up the phone I saw the man by the window on the verandah. I screamed and fell to the floor. I guess that I fainted, because when I opened my eyes I saw my brother putting a cushion under my head and he told me that he had called for the ambulance.”

The woman was admitted to the Joseph N France General Hospital, where she received five injections and a prescription for medication and was discharged on the morning of the following day.    

There was some degree of peace during that day until Monday night when the intruder struck again. This time, however, he went to the rear of the house and wrote on the concrete, “You has nine days to live.” This was also reported to the police.  

When contacted, Police Press and Public Relations Officer Inspector Cromwell Henry told SKNVibes that the police have taken the threat “very seriously and steps have been taken in the protection of the officer”. He also informed that investigations are ongoing.

According to sources, the death threat may be as a result of the officer’s testimony given in a case where a man was recently sentenced to a long-term imprisonment.