BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – LEON SUTTON, the man whose body was found on Thursday (Dec. 15) lying on a road leading to the mountain in Mansion Village with multiple gunshot wounds, was suspected to have been the person who shot Ronel Warner on that said day.
While a guest on Freedom FM’s programme, ‘The JL Experience’, this morning (Dec. 17), Commissioner of Police Ian Queeley spoke to the two shooting incidents and also on a number of issues including the state of security during the Carnival Season.
“Persons need to understand that the circle of violence in St. Kitts seems to be revolving around a set of known persons, and the person in question [Sutton] was a suspect of in a village shooting in the day. The police were actually on their way to look for him when they received information of the body that was found,” Queeley said in response to Sutton’s shooting death and the wound of Warner.
Asked if Sutton’s death might have one of retaliation, Queeley said: “Well, that, we do not want to speculate. We don’t know! The matter is being investigated and we are urging persons to come forward.”
Warner, who hails from Mansion Village was shot to the chest shortly after 1:00 p.m. by an unknown assailant on Thursday in Molineaux Village and was transported to the JNF General Hospital, where he is currently warded.
AQpproximately four hours later, police of ‘B’ Division had responded to a phone call and upon investigation found Sutton’s lifeless body lying on a road leading to the mountain in Mansion Village with multiple gunshot wounds.
Sutton was said to be from McKnight but had recently taken up residence in Molineaux Village.
His death has taken to 31, the number of homicides committed in the Federation for the year; five on Nevis and 26 on St. Kitts.
In a clarion call to citizens and residents of St. Kitts and Nevis, Queeley said: We have said time and time again that we have Crime Stoppers 1-800-8477(TIPS) and you can call anonymously. I want to make it clear so that the public can understand that you don’t have to give your name. That phone call is not even answered in St. Kitts, it is answered overseas. The person who answers does not even see the telephone number. What they get is an area code and you tell them what you want to tell them and they would relay it to the police.”
He declared that the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force had realised some degree of success since the implementation of Crime Stoppers.
“We have had some success using that and we are urging persons to use it, because this is an era when persons are not coming forward as they ought to. I want to underscore the point that the issue of crime is societal and all of us should be involved. The police on mandate, which we are pursuing, have taken the lead and we will not at all back peddle. We need the support of all in the community.”
Asked what protection is available to those who want to give evidence but are afraid they would be killed even before the trial begins.
“Firstly, there are more good people than bad people, so for sure they cannot kill out all of us. Secondly, we have done it in the past, we are doing it currently and we will continue to do it. The law provides for persons to testify by video conference and so on. So with the correct requisites and everything established, persons can testify by video conference for varying reasons. And we have had persons testifying in our court from in England, from in Jamaica, from wherever. It’s an educational process and we have been saying it, this avenue.”
He stated that protection was given to a number of individuals in the Federation, but however pointed out that some people had refused to give evidence in court and even by video conference, although protection was offered.
“Persons who would have come forward and give information or evidence in a matter...we have done it before we had protected persons right here in St. Kitts and overseas as well. And a lot of times we have said to people, ‘If you think there is a danger, let us know and we would put the requisite protection in place.’ But a lot of people would say: ‘Not me, me aine going no place.’ But the truth is that there are mechanisms and there will continue to be mechanisms and the recommendations that have been advanced to improve on that process.”
