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Posted: Monday 14 August, 2017 at 11:07 AM

To where was the captured Grenadian fugitive headed?

By: Stanford Conway, SKNVibes.com

    BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – WHILE the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force must be commended for the recent capture of Grenadian Kathron ‘Cuchi’ Fortune, who was wanted in St. Maarten for escaping from lawful custody, this writer has decided to seek answers to a number of questions that led to his apprehension.

     

    Reports coming out of St. Maarten indicated that Fortune was serving a 21-year prison sentence for the cold-blooded murder of 22-year-old Ervin Margarita on May 11, 2006 in Rice Hill Estate, but he had escaped on Monday, February 15, 2016 during a scheduled visit to Dr. Paul de Windt’s office on Welgelegen Road in Cay Hill.

    Reports also stated that while at the doctor’s office under escort, Fortune managed to get hold of a firearm, took off on foot, was picked up by an unmarked vehicle and had been on the lam since then.

    Additional reports indicated that shots were fired during his daring escape and law enforcement officers were investigating how he had gotten access to the firearm.

    It is also said that since his escape, Fortune was fingered in five other murders on St. Maarten.

    His arrest in St. Kitts resulted in the discovery of a rifle with telescopic stock, 57 rounds of matching ammunition, a bulletproof vest and a quantity of marijuana, among other items.

    According to a police statement, he was captured by officers from District ‘B’ who had responded to the sighting of an unusual activity along the coastline in Cranstoun Bay, an area in the vicinity of Newton Ground. 

    Fortune was slapped with a number of charges including illegal entry into the Federation and was remanded at Her Majesty’ Prison. However, on Friday (Aug. 4) when he appeared before the District ‘B’ Magistrate’s Court, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had discontinued the charges laid against him and he was deported to St. Maarten later that evening.

    A police release stated: “The DPP having assessed the matter with a view to determine the best course to adopt, determined that our best interest would be served by discontinuing the charges.

    “Consequently, he exercised the powers so vested in him under section 65 (2) (c) of the Constitution to discontinue the charges. This paved the way for Mr. Fortune's immediate expulsion from the Federation. A deportation order was then sorted and he was deported to St. Maarten later that day escorted by Law Enforcement officials of St. Maarten.”

    Now that Fortune is back from where he escaped some 17 months ago, this writer has decided to analyse the information provided by the police in the conduct of the operation that led to his capture that early Saturday morning.

    In the police statement, they did not mention: the type of vessel in which the fugitive was brought to St. Kitts; if the vessel was intercepted, and if so, by whom was it captained; if the captain is a national of St. Kitts and Nevis; who owns the vessel; where was it registered; and who was with him at the time of his arrest.

    Suffice to say that at that time investigations were ongoing and the divulgence of such information might have impeded the investigators progress. 

    Nevertheless, this writer believes that answers to some of those questions should have been provided in order for members of the public to know that in addition to the capture of a dangerous criminal, those who are mandated to serve and protect them had done an excellent job that could result in deterring individuals who are engaged in transporting guns, ammunition, illegal drugs and even criminals into the Federation.

    Before commenting on the operation and typing my suggestions, this writer would like to commend Commissioner Ian Queeley on what a recent communiqué quoted him as saying about the officers who made the arrest.

    An excerpt in the communiqué read: “This was vigilance and situational awareness by our officers who saw something abnormal and responded, and luck in that the one we caught was a fugitive.”

    From all indications, the police were alerted of Fortune’s presence in the Newton Ground area by an individual or individuals who saw it as their civic duty to so do, but in the communiqué the Commissioner failed to commend them. However, it was not until Wednesday (Aug. 2) when a question on the fugitive’s apprehension was posed by a reporter at the Prime Minister’s Monthly Press Conference did he acknowledge the person or persons who provided the information.

    It must be remembered that the Police Force is always calling on citizens and residents to “say something when you see something”. And while those persons would love to remain anonymous, they would certainly feel a sense of pride and nationalism on being commended.

    The Federation has recorded 17 homicides for this year - 14 of which were gun-related - and the police have removed 35 illegal firearms off the streets, including the one that was in the fugitive’s possession.

    With that said, one homicide is one too many and this writer, like the majority of citizens and residents, would like to see an end to this particular scourge of crime.

    Commissioner Queeley had disclosed that the high-powered rifle is a Bushmaster brand. It is likely to be one of the semi-automatic or select-fire carbines, equipped with a telescopic stock, manufactured by Bushmaster Firearms International in the United States of America.

    This writer was told that the fugitive had approximately 57 live rounds for that firearm.

    Consider what the consequences might have been if the police did not capture Fortune and he had merged with other criminals in the Federation with that Bushmaster firearm and that amount of matching ammunition.

    It is obvious that he knew where he was going after arriving in St. Kitts. Therefore, another question that boggles this writer’s mind is: “Why didn’t the police employ surveillance strategies to find out where he was heading?”

    It is also obvious that if Fortune had never been to St. Kitts or had no prior knowledge of his intended destination, arrangements must have been made for someone on the island to receive and harbour him.

    Even though he had a sum of US currency in his possession, it is highly improbable that he would have sought accommodation at a hotel, especially while toting a firearm. Therefore, someone on the island had to be involved in his coming to the Federation.

    This writer was not privy to the modus operandi of the patrol in nabbing the wanted man. Also, this writer does not know what time constraints might have been involved in his quick apprehension.

    But with all things being equal, why didn’t members of the patrol keep him under surveillance as was done in the over EC$103,000 drug bust in November 2015 that resulted in the conviction of Stedroy ‘Smash’ Walwyn and Elaine Hyacinth Cooper.

    The officers involved in that operation were highly commended for the strategy employed leading to the arrest and successful conviction of the duo.

    While it must be agreed that the officers who responded to the sighting of the unusual activity along the coastline were unaware of the person’s identity, there are still a number of pertinent questions to which answers are needed.

    Among those questions are:

    1. Was the fugitive apprehended on or within proximity of the beach in Newton Ground?
    2. Did the officers see the vessel that transported him to St. Kitts?
    3. Was the firearm he carried visible to the officers, or was it concealed?
    4. If visible, why didn’t they have him on surveillance to see where he was heading?

    As earlier mentioned, this writer is unaware of constraints that might have impeded the officers’ modus operandi; in that time might not have been available for them to remain undetected and ‘tail’ the fugitive to his intended destination.

    However, this writer would like to make the following suggestions:

    In future operations of a similar nature, ensure that an unmarked vehicle with two or more officers, clad in civilian clothes, are part of the team to keep suspects under surveillance;
    Unmarked vehicles employed in surveillance operations do not necessarily have to be from rental agencies. Use the vehicles owned by members of the Security Forces. By so doing, the officers, even if tired, would be enthusiastically involved because they will be financially compensated for the use of their vehicles in addition to their overtime package;
    Now that members of the Defence Fore have been vested with the powers of arrest, they too should be considered part of surveillance and clandestine operations;  
    If not already in place, a strike force should always be on stand-by, especially at nights, for quick response to emergencies;
    Networking - Every police vehicle is said to be equipped with a radio and they could communicate with the Base Station as well as with each other. But is every police station in the Federation equipped with one, or do they have to rely on cell phones? If there isn’t, then the authorities need to quickly remedy this situation;
    The communications network must also include the Defence Force and the Coast Guard, especially the latter, so that its personnel on stand-by could go into action immediately on receipt of information of strange vessels being sighted in the Federation’s territorial waters; 
    The Federation’s borders are very porous and the Coast Guard is not fully equipped with the human resource and enough vessels to monitor them 24/7. Therefore, why not use soldiers to establish two and three-man concealed outposts along the coastlines that are known to be used for illegal activities;
    Earlier this year there had been talks about the use of Drones for security purposes, but since then no word was had about them. With the employment of Drones, not only would the police be able to nab those engaged in criminal activities, but with round-the-clock manning the Coast Guard would be better able to observe what is happening in the country’s territorial waters;

    Conclusively, it is known that the Police Force would never make public certain information about its crime fighting strategy. But it is hoped that if all or most of these suggestions have not already been implemented, this writer thinks that the High Command should consider there importance with a view of bringing an end to gun-running, in particular, and enhancing security within the twin-island Federation as a whole.

    The big question that however still lingers in this writer’s mind is: “To where was the captured Grenadian fugitive headed?”





     
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