BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THREE individuals are in custody assisting sleuths of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force with their investigation into the death of Devon Javid Percival-Payne.
A police communiqué today (Feb. 8) stated that the three individuals were arrested following information gathered during the period when officers and family members were searching for Payne, who went missing for a number of days.
“The suspects are being interviewed and the investigation will continue in order to establish the facts,” the communiqué said. It however noted that it is too early at this time to state whether charges would be preferred against the trio.
The communiqué also stated that the police would like to thank members of the public for their continued support in partnering with them to prevent crimes and to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Payne, who went missing since early Thursday morning (Jan. 28), was found by a younger brother who went in search of him.
The brother had picked up a putrid scent emanating from within the area, and on investigating he found Payne’s decomposing body lying between some tall grasses about 33 yards off the main road that leads from Stapleton Village to Ogees Village.
SKNVibes learnt that a large quantity of marijuana plants under cultivation were found a short distance away from where the body was found.
According to Payne’s mother, Laverne Percival, she last saw him on Wednesday evening (Jan. 27) and he had indicated that he would be attending a party in the Stapleton area.
She however claimed that after not seeing him on the following day, she enquired of his whereabouts and was told that shortly after midnight when he had left the party gunshots were heard and he had not been seen since then.
The distraught mother also told this publication that she had tried calling him on his cellular phone but there was no response.
Speaking with SKNVibes, a resident in Ogees claimed that shortly after midnight on Wednesday he had heard about 10 shots fired in the area, but “even though curiosity took hold of me, I decided not to venture out of my home because of the recent spate of shooting-deaths”.
It is suspected that the 28-year-old might have been the victim of that early morning shooting incident.
When this publication arrived at the scene investigations were already underway by members of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force.
Devon Javid Percival-Payne’s death has taken the number of homicides committed in the twin-island Federation for this year to six; five on St. Kitts and one on Nevis.
The first was that of ex-Defence Force member Vancito Dore of Cayon who was killed on Thursday (Jan. 14). According to a police statement, the incident occurred at about 8:30 a.m. and initial investigations revealed that he was shot in the Upper Cayon area “by two masked assailants who alighted from a motor vehicle”.
The second victim was 24-year-old Hassan Evans of Pond’s Extension, who was shot multiple times on Upper Thibou Avenue at about 1:15 p.m. on Sunday (Jan. 24). He shortly thereafter succumbed to his injuries at the Joseph N France General Hospital.
Twenty-five-year-old Lanzelle O’Loughlin of Molineaux Village was killed execution style shortly before 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday (Jan. 27) in the vicinity of Junie’s Shop in Mansion Village.
The fourth homicide victim was Wade ‘Grammy’ Phipps, who was originally from Lower Cayon but was residing in Christ Church. He was killed execution style at about 7:45 p.m. on Friday (Jan. 29) in the vicinity of the basketball court in Ottley’s Village.
And Saturday morning (Jan. 30), the body of 38-year-old Asim ‘Sim’ Parris of Stoney Grove was discovered lying between two tombs in Bath Village Cemetery with what appeared to be a bullet wound to his head.
