BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – TWO men were charged with the murder of St. Kitts and Nevis national Kenya Francis-Mitcham of Shaw Avenue, McKnight and have been remanded to Her Majesty’ Prison in neighbouring Anguilla.
The duo, 20-year-old Diayan Austin and 35-year-old Clive Hodge were detained on Monday (Dec. 15) as part of the investigation into Francis-Mitcham’s shooting death.
They were subsequently charged with Murder, Possession of Ammunition and two counts of Possession of Firearm.
According to a release sent to this publication by Inspector Emris Rogers, Press and Public Relations Officer of the Royal Anguilla Police Force, the two men, one born in St. Kitts and the other in St. Maarten, both of whom are holders of Anguillan passports, appeared before a City Magistrate yesterday (Dec. 18) for a bail hearing but were denied pre-trial liberty and remanded to prison.
“At about 8:45 a.m. on Monday 15th December 2014, officers discovered the body of a male, subsequently identified as 34-year old Kenya Francis-Mitcham, a national from St Kitts, in a residential apartment in South Hill,” the release read.
Unconfirmed reports indicate that Francis-Mitcham was shot to death in the presence of his girlfriend and his daughter shortly after arriving on the British overseas territory.
The police thanked members of the public for providing information which led to the quick apprehension of Austin and Hodge.
“The Royal Anguilla Police Force would like to repeat their thanks to members of the public who provided information in confidence. This was crucial in enabling the swift arrests of Mr. Austin and Mr. Hodge. The RAPF continues to ask that anyone with further information about the incident, or any other crime, to contact the Royal Anguilla Police Force Criminal Investigation Department. Information can also be passed anonymously to the police via our website www.gov.ai/911 or via telephone at #497-2333 or 497-6533.”
This is not the first time Francis-Mitcham had been a victim of gun violence.
At about 10:00 p.m. on June 27, 2011, while among a group of young men in the vicinity of Y‘s Shop on Fiennes Avenue in McKnight, a number of men opened fire in their direction killing 21-year-old Alexter Eloni Jeffers and wounding three others, including Francis-Mitcham, in the process.
He also had clashes with the law when, in 2001, he was jointly charged for Wounding with Intent and Unlawful Wounding, and was arrested on November 29, 2009 by members of the Anti-Gang Unit after being found in possession of one live 12 gauge shotgun round.
