Group photo as Minister Francis calls on Minister for Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang

(PRESS RELEASE) — Minister for Home Affairs and National Security Hermangild Francis returned from Taiwan on Friday, September 27, 2019, after a successful five-day fact-finding tour.

The minister, accompanied by Deputy Permanent Secretary within the Department of Home Affairs and National Security, Mr. Ricky Quinla,n benefited from meticulously planned visits to state institutions that are mainly focused on policing and citizen security.

Minister Francis gets a feel of the Judge’s Chair the Taiwan High Court

Among the highlights of the Taiwan trip, the Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Miguel Li- jey, held an introductory meeting with Minister Francis. He later met with national security counterparts including Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo – yung and Director General Chen Ja-chin of the National Police Agency.

“Discussions centered on citizen security. The Taiwanese officials explained that the citizens of Taiwan played a pivotal role in the security of the country by consistently being proactive in reporting acts of criminality. It sounded to me that they were just as vigilant as the police where crime was concerned,” Francis said.

Minister listens keenly as he tours the Taiwan High Court

The visiting officials also called on Saint Lucia’s Ambassador to Taiwan,  Ambassador Edwin Laurent, at the St. Lucia Embassy. Minister Francis also met with Saint Lucian students who are currently attending university in Taiwan.

The Taiwan visit also included visits to the Investigation Bureau and the Ministry of Justice in Taiwan. Minister Francis noted that there are differences to the judicial systems of the diplomatic allies, however, he noted that there are areas of national security and the judiciary that Saint Lucia can model after Taiwan in the area of best practices.

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Brown (left) and Michael Diaz Mitchell

Updated at 11:08 p.m. to include news about the arrest of second suspect

Law enforcement officials in Dallas, US said they have made a breakthrough in the fatal shooting of Joshua Brown but it has nothing to do with the recent murder trial of ex-cop Amber Guyger.

Officials said his death is linked to a sour drug deal.

The 28-year-old was reportedly gunned down in a parking lot last week Friday, days after testifying in the trial of Guyger who was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting Brown’s neighbour, Botham Jean, in his own apartment in September 2018. Guyger claimed she mistook the apartment for hers and thought Jean, a 26-year-old St. Lucian-born accountant, was a burglar.

Following Brown’s execution 10 days after the trial, many people speculated on social media that his death may be linked to him testifying against Guyger, and amid reports that he was scheduled to testify in a civil lawsuit against the Dallas police.

However, reports coming of Dallas on Tuesday, Oct. 8 have indicated that Brown was killed in a marijuana deal gone wrong — with three suspects.

From left: Brown, Green, and Mitchell

They initially arrested one suspect, 20-year-old Jacquerious Mitchell, and was able to apprehend. later on Tuesday, a second suspect, 32-year-old Michael Diaz Mitchell, who was reportedly caught in Louisiana and taken into custody there.

The third suspect, 22-year-old Thaddeous Charles Green, remains at large. Police said Green is armed and dangerous.

Media reports indicate that the three suspects went to Brown’s apartment complex to buy marijuana when an argument and altercation developed. Jacquerious Mitchell was wounded in the fight, and he allegedly told the police, according to media reports, that it was Green who shot Brown twice.

Brown died while receiving treatment at a hospital.

One of the suspects took Brown’s backpack and gun before fleeing the scene, reports indicate.

Green and Michael Diaz Mitchell dropped the wounded Jacquerious Mitchell at a hospital and then fled the state, reports further stated.

WFAA news channel has reported that 12 pounds of marijuana, 149 grams of THC cartridges, and $4,157 cash were taken from Brown’s apartment when police conducted a search after the shooting.

Assistant Chief Avery Moore told WFAA that the rumors surrounding Brown’s death have been false all along and encouraged “community leaders” to be careful of what they say.

“The rumors shared by community leaders that Mr. Brown’s death was related to the Amber Guyger trial and that the Dallas Police Department was responsible are false. We encourage those leaders to be mindful because their words may jeopardize the integrity of the city of Dallas and Dallas Police Department,” Moore is quoted as saying by WFAA.

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From left: Jacquerious Mitchell in hospital, Michael Mitchell, and Thaddeous Green. (Inset photo: Joshua Brown)

(USA TODAY) — The family of Joshua Brown, a witness in the murder trial of a Dallas police officer, asked for an independent investigation into his fatal shooting while the manhunt continued Wednesday for a third suspect in the case.

Dallas police announced Tuesday that two suspects in Brown’s death were in custody and a third was being sought.

“I’m glad that (Dallas police) believe they have the suspects in the Brown killing identified,” said S. Lee Merritt, a lawyer for Brown’s family. “All I ask is that they have another law enforcement agency take over to make sure all the bases are covered due to the circumstances in this case.”

Brown was a witness in the trial of former police officer Amber Guyger, who was convicted last week of killing a neighbor, Botham Jean, in his apartment after mistaking it for her own and him for an intruder. Brown’s testimony was crucial because he lived on the same floor as Guyger and heard them talking but did not hear Guyger shout verbal commands or warnings before shooting Jean.

Brown was found shot to death in a parking lot Friday, two days after Guyger was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Dallas Deputy Police Chief Avery Moore said Tuesday that Brown was killed in a drug deal that devolved into a gunbattle.

Authorities confiscated 12 pounds of marijuana, other drugs and $4,000 in cash from Brown’s apartment.

Michael Mitchell, 32, was arrested by federal deputy marshals Tuesday night in Marksville, Louisiana. His nephew Jacquerious Mitchell, 20, was in critical condition in a Dallas hospital with a gunshot wound.

A manhunt was underway for Thaddeous Green, 22.

Before details of the slaying were announced, the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and others called for an independent investigation into Brown’s death and the Dallas Police Department.

Moore chastised those who implied that police were somehow linked to Brown’s death.

“I assure you that is simply not true,” Moore said. “I encourage those leaders to be mindful of their actions moving forward because their words have jeopardized the integrity of the city of Dallas as well as the Dallas Police Department.”

Tensions between Dallas police and community activists erupted into shouting and shoving Tuesday at the first meeting of a new Community Police Oversight Committee.

Contributing: The Associated Press

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(PRESS RELEASE) — The Department of Home Affairs and National Security is calling on the citizenry to equip themselves with knowledge of human trafficking.

There is an ongoing campaign that has resulted in growing awareness on this issue and there is a hotline based at the Police Control Room, Royal Saint Lucia Police Force. By simply calling 847 or T.I.P., at any time, the public can report any cases of suspected human trafficking to the police. The lawmen will respond and investigate accordingly. Persons who prefer not to provide their identification are not required to do so.

Reacting to breaking news this morning from Port of Spain, Trinidad, that a sting operation by the Special Operations Response Team (SORT) of the Police Service had uncovered what can only be described as modern-day slavery, the Department of Home Affairs and National Security is calling on the Saint Lucia public to pay close attention to this issue which can happen anywhere.

Trinidad and Tobago officers on Wednesday rescued 69 people, four of them women, who were being held captive in cages at a church along the Eastern Main Road, Arouca, Trinidad and Tobago. The men and women, all Trinidad and Tobago nationals, range in ages 20’s to 60’s, and some were kept in handcuffs.

Trinidad police say the operation began around 12.15 a.m. on Wednesday. Search warrants were issued for human trafficking after a period of monitoring and investigations. They have so far arrested six people in connection with the disturbing find. The church they were imprisoned at is a rehabilitation centre.

Police Commissioner Gary Griffith, Deputy Commissioner of Police Operations (Ag.) Jayson Forde, the TTPS’s Victim and Witness Support Unit, and officers of the Northern Division CID were on scene at 5:30 a.m.

Police say senior officers were tipped off to the possible illegal imprisonment of persons months ago. An investigation has since been launched by Commissioner Griffith to determine whether there was the negligence of duties on the part of officers.

Griffith said he will provide updates on the investigation in due course.

The Saint Lucia public is invited to utilize the information tools that the Trafficking In Persons Secretariat have developed for the purposes of building awareness about this barbaric crime.

The Saint Lucia website on human trafficking is https://www.antitraffickingslu.org/. The Facebook is on https://www.facebook.com/antitrafficking758.

The Department of Home Affairs and National Security encourages persons to like those pages, subscribe for free, and follow the anti-trafficking campaign for continuous updates, information, and awareness). Also check out:

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/antitrafficking758/

Youtube channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCczjVMqwc_gARxdbCfSK-Q

The Department of Home Affairs is also following this story closely.

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Joshua Brown had a long criminal history including drug dealing

(WFAA) — Joshua Brown was no stranger to police. He was arrested in at least five different cities across Texas.

Legal documents show Brown was arrested for drug possession, evading arrest, theft and having an illegal firearm.

Brown was killed Friday outside his Dallas apartment. The man had testified the week before during the murder trial for Amber Guyger, the former Dallas police officer who killed Botham Jean.

Brown’s slaying has gained national attention, with many speculating on social media that Brown was killed because of his testimony during the trial.

Dallas police say those rumors are untrue. They say Brown was robbed and killed during a drug deal. Brown shot one of the suspects in his death moments before he was killed.

Brown once said he was on a “clean path.”

WFAA obtained court documents and a letter Brown wrote to a judge while he was serving time at Bradshaw State Jail.

He was in the state jail from Jan. 4, 2017, to Feb. 17, 2017, for a drug possession conviction in Leon County, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

In the letter, Brown asked the judge to allow him to serve two different sentences concurrently so he could be released sooner.

“I am praying when that date comes and I am discharged that I can put the whole series of events behind me and start of on a clean path,” he wrote.

Records show Brown continued a life of crime.

Last year, he was shot at a strip club in North Dallas. A man with Brown was shot and killed.

Police believe Brown was the target in the slaying, court records show.

Attorney Lee Merritt represents Brown’s family. He tweeted that Brown had been shot in the head and mouth, prompting speculation about why the man was killed.

Brown was shot twice in his lower body, authorities said.

The attorney also claimed that Brown was afraid to testify during the Guyger trial but clarified his statements Wednesday.

Merritt admits Brown’s hesitance had nothing to do with Guyger or Jean’s death.

“He led people to believe that he had left Dallas and testifying in the trial lets them know, ‘Yes I am here,’ and it exposed him to danger. He feared for his life in this case, not because of Amber Guyger, but because someone shot him less than a year ago,” the attorney said.

Brown was killed Friday during a botched drug deal, police said. Authorities say three men were robbing him of drugs.

They say Brown pulled a weapon first and shot one of the suspects, Jacquerious Mitchell, after an argument.

Mitchell says he then heard two shots. He says Thaddeus Green killed Brown, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Mitchell remains hospitalized and is in police custody.

Merritt now admits there is enough evidence supporting that but says people won’t believe it because he says the Dallas Police Department lacks credibility after the Guyger trial.

“The evidence will always be undermined by the DPD implication in that case,” said Merritt.

WFAA obtained the search warrant of Brown’s apartment which shows police found 12 pounds of marijuana and $4,000 in cash. They also found digital scales used to weigh drugs.

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Chris Norman (right) started the online petition calling for Lamar Street in Dallas to be renamed “Botham Jean Way.”

(DALLAS MORNING NEWS) — Nearly 40,000 people have signed an online petition calling for Lamar Street — where Dallas’ police headquarters is located — to be renamed for Botham Jean, the 26-year-old man fatally shot last year by former Dallas officer Amber Guyger.

Chris Norman, 40, said he started the petition on an impulse after Guyger was sentenced last week to 10 years in prison.

Guyger and Jean both lived on Lamar Street at the time of the shooting. Guyger, 31, has said she mistook Jean’s apartment for her own the night of Sept. 6, 2018, and fatally shot him at the South Side Flats apartment complex.

Norman said he was watching Police Chief U. Reneé Hall’s news conference after the sentence, where she said she was “fully committed” to making changes in the department in response to incidents revealed during Guyger’s trial. Norman said he didn’t know Jean, but he followed the trial closely.

Norman said his pastor, the Rev. Frederick D. Haynes III of Friendship-West Baptist Church, is always challenging his congregants to find a way to make a difference.

“I was like, ‘OK, what can I do?’” Norman said. “Obviously changing the name of a street is not going to help the family or bring Botham Jean back, but it was just something that I felt would be a good honor.”

Since he started the petition, Norman said, people have pointed out to him that there may be costs involved with changing the street’s name to Botham Jean Way and that it might pose an issue for businesses to have to change their addresses. But he said the petition is mainly symbolic — he wants to show that there’s support for a street named after Jean, he said.

“If my life was ended or cut short … especially at the hands of injustice, I would hope that somebody would remember me or fight for my justice,” he said.

The attention the petition received surprised Norman, who said he didn’t expect even 50 people to sign on, much less thousands.

To get a street name changed in Dallas, an application has to be submitted to the Sustainable Development and Construction Department. From there, it undergoes staff review and has to be considered in a City Plan Commission meeting before it goes to the City Council for a final decision.

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One male is dead and at least one other person injured following a shooting incident in Soufriere early Saturday morning, police said.

The incident occurred around 1 a.m.

The identity of the deceased is not yet known.

Reports indicate that the shooting occurred during an altercation at a community event.

Two persons sustained wounds and one died at a hospital.

No additional details were immediately available.

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Shalomn was fatally shot in Soufriere Saturday morning

A police officer is mourning the loss of his son, who was fatally shot in Soufriere early Saturday morning Oct. 12.

Sheldon Leon, who, according to his Facebook profile is a ‘patrol officer’ with the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force, is calling for justice for his son, who was shot around 1 a.m.

“Rest in peace Shalomn but I will not rest even if it has to cost me my life. Justice for Shalomn Justice I will not rest,” he wrote on his Facebook profile on Saturday afternoon.

Officer Sheldon Leon

Police have not released an official statement on the shooting, however, according to reports from various sources in the community, the shooting occurred during an altercation at a community event.

It is further reported that two persons sustained wounds and one was pronounced dead at a hospital. It is not known if the injured person was involved in the altercation or if anyone has been formally arrested for the shooting.

However, one person told St. Lucia News News Online that it was “a fight” that led to the shooting. What the fight was about is not yet known.

“It was a fight then during the fight some shots were fired,” the source said.

No additional details were available.

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Local leaders call for accountability in fatal police shooting

Inside of Greater Saint Stephen First Church there was anger, frustration and the feeling this is all too familiar.

More than 10 African-American community leaders and pastors gathered in the chapel around noon Saturday, visibly processing their emotions in the wake of the news that a white Fort Worth officer fatally shot a black woman in her home on East Allen Avenue a little after 2 a.m. A neighbor, James Smith, had noticed her doors were open and lights were on, so he called police to conduct a welfare check.

The woman who was killed was Atatiana Jefferson, 28, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The shooting marked the seventh time since June 1 a Fort Worth police officer had shot a civilian. Six of those people died.

The community leaders, who stood behind a podium and took turns addressing those in attendance, spoke about what the series of shootings means to black residents — the fear they represent. How a black person could feel nervous to pick up the phone to call police.

The Rev. Michael Bell of Greater Saint Stephen said the shooting evokes the killing of Botham Jean, the black 26-year-old man who was killed in his apartment by Amber Guyger, a white Dallas police officer who entered his apartment last year thinking it was her own.

Guyger was found guilty of murder Oct. 2 and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Bell said he wants people to call the shooting in Fort Worth what it is — murder — and to see the officer who fired the shot held accountable. He also said Mayor Betsy Price and Police Chief Ed Kraus need to address systemic racism within the police department.

“The Fort Worth police murdered this woman. They murdered this woman in her own house,” Bell said. “And now, African-Americans, we have no recourse. If we call the police, they will come and kill us. And we know that.”

On Saturday evening, Price released a statement about the shooting.

“Writing a statement like this is tragic and something that should never be necessary. A young woman has lost her life, leaving her family in unbelievable grief. All of Fort Worth must surround Atatiana Jefferson’s family with prayers, love and support,” Price said in the statement. “Chief Kraus and his command staff are acting with immediacy and transparency to conduct a complete and thorough investigation.”

Price said more details on the shooting are forthcoming, and the Tarrant County District Attorney Law Enforcement Incident Team will ultimately receive the case.

The leaders of the black religious community were echoing a wider response, as Fort Worth residents were reeling from the death of Jefferson, who lived in the home with her 8-year-old nephew, according to neighbors.

They said many people have reached a tipping point and they’re going to be less passive in their response, demanding answers from the city of Fort Worth.

Smith, the man who called police to check on Jefferson, said he was left feeling like shouldn’t have called, and he might not in the future.

Bell spoke to him Saturday morning, and shared details of their conversation at the press conference, which was attended by a few people and media outlets. Among his many concerns was that, according to body camera video, officers appeared to not clearly identify themselves as police and Jefferson might not have known they were there.

The police, he said, parked around the corner and approached the home in “tactical fashion.”

The Rev. Rodney McIntosh of Christ The Risen King Church said he was sad to be speaking about another police shooting, about four months after police shot JaQuavion Slaton, an assault suspect who was hiding inside a parked truck. Slaton also suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the right side of his head in addition to multiple shots fired by police, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner.

It was troubling to him, McIntosh said, the officer responding to the welfare call was willing to shoot into the house at someone he didn’t clearly identify.

“What bothers me with us as a community is (for) two or three weeks we’ll be upset, we’ll be angry and then we’ll go on with life,” he said. “But what we’re finding out is if we stop for two or three weeks, two or three weeks later, somebody else may be killed. So we’ve got to stand up as a community and let them know that we’re sick and tired of our young ladies being killed. We’re sick and tired of our sons being killed.”

He asked for the officer to be terminated and for police to not twist any facts in the case to make Jefferson seem like a criminal.

The Rev. B.R. Daniels Jr. of Beth Eden Baptist Church said Fort Worth police, and departments across the country, need to get rid of a “paramilitary” mindset and be public servants of the city.

How did a welfare call, he wondered, “turn into the murder of this African-American young lady?”

“We’re tired of this and it’s going to stop,” Daniels Jr. said. “And we’re going to be here every step of the way to make sure this case is handled well.”

Star-Telegram staff writers Kaley Johnson, Luke Ranker and Emerson Clarridge contributed to this report.

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From left: Brandt Jean hugging Amber Guyger and Judge Kemp hugging Guyger

Hank Stewart understands forgiveness.

He’s a Christian and active in his church, Antioch Baptist Church North in Atlanta.

Everyone makes mistakes. He also knows that.

What he can’t wrap his mind around, however, were the scenes that played out this week in a Dallas County courtroom during the trial of ex-police officer Amber Guyger, who was found guilty of killing an unarmed black man, St. Lucia native Botham Jean, in his apartment, after she claimed that she accidentally mistook it for her own.

What Stewart also doesn’t get is the African American judge Tammy Kemp stepping down from the bench and hugging Guyger and giving her a Bible or a black female bailiff touching Guyger’s hair. Or Jean’s younger brother asking to hug the woman who had robbed his family of a beloved member.

“Would that same type of compassion be shown in Fulton County, in DeKalb County, in the Bronx in New York, in Miami to black and brown people?” asked Stewart, a poet and activist. “It’s consistently inconsistent. We all want forgiveness. We’ve all made mistakes, but you can’t ignore the role race played. It’s white privilege.

”Like Stewart, many in the black community find themselves grappling with the belief in forgiveness as encouraged by their faith and how that juxtaposes with the raw emotions they feel living in a divided nation where the justice system is often seen as unfair.

“We keep having these same kind of conversations,” said Carl Suddler, an assistant professor of history at Emory University and author of “Presumed Criminal: Black Youth and the Justice System in Postwar New York.”

“We had it after Charleston (when some relatives of members of Emanuel AME Church forgave the killer, Dylann Roof) and here we are again — whether we should forgive folks for such heinous actions. And it’s hard.”

He said more people are likely to understand 18-year-old Brandt Jean’s reaction than that of Kemp and the bailiff.

“This has gotten such a visceral reaction because we, as black folks, haven’t been given the same type of treatment,” said Suddler. “If the shoe were on the other foot, would a judge have given someone a Bible? History says probably not.”Dionne Mahaffey of Sandy Springs, an entrepreneur and business psychologist, agrees.

“When you think about other people who have been wronged, they are expected to always remember the wrong,” she said, citing 9/11 and the Holocaust. “As black people — the way white supremacy works — we are expected to forget the wrong and forgive it. You never hear about Jewish people embracing a Nazi terrorist. Throughout our history, the onus has always been placed on black people to show humanity. We don’t even take the time to show that same level of empathy to our own people. We are not allowed to see ourselves as human.”

She said she’s told people not to be so forgiving if someone should kill her “or I’ll come back and haunt you.”

Many on social media weighed in.

“It’s weaponizing Christianity against black People that’s been past (sic) down for generations to keep black People docile,” wrote one Twitter user.

Another wrote: “Ppl are criticizing #BrandtJean for hugging & forgiving #AmberGuyger If that’s what he feels he needs to do for his heart & sanity in dealing with losing his brother, who are we to criticize. Now the judge and the bailiff can get all the smoke but I respect his grieving process.”

During his victim impact statement, Brandt Jean told Guyger, who was sentenced to 10 years, that he wanted the best for her because he knew that was what his brother, an accountant and leader in his Dallas church, would have wanted.

People, though, do not always arrive at forgiveness at the same time or in the same way. And forgiveness does not mean the offender should not be punished.

Brenda Muhammad’s 16-year-old son, Norbren, was murdered in 1989.

A Christian, Muhammad said her faith helped a lot.

“Forgiveness is an individual thing, and people have to decide what’s in their heart and in their spirit,” said Muhammad, director of the Atlanta Victim Assistance Inc. “It took me awhile. At the beginning, I could have never thought about forgiveness. It was just when I thought about how much weight I was carrying because of the anger and lack of forgiveness.”

Even those who have spent decades in the pulpit are wrestling with what happened.

“There’s a line of demarcation,” said the Rev. Gerald Durley, pastor emeritus of Providence Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta and a psychologist. “The teaching is that when a person has sinned against you, you should forgive their transgressions as Christ forgives ours. But in a society where this young lady gets 10 years, that was really challenging given my human feelings towards justice. I really had to go down inside of myself.

“And he’s still grappling with it.

“The social and psychological side based on a racist system will really challenge our Christian petition. In our Christian faith, he demonstrated the appropriate behavior, but that human aspect is real,” Durley said.

To the Rev. Timothy McDonald III, senior pastor of First Iconium Baptist Church in Atlanta, forgiveness is a process.

“It’s recognizing that a wrong has been committed, processing that wrong and reaching a point where there is at least some sense of reconciliation. I don’t think forgiveness means going back to where we used to be.

“We’ve been taught wrong about forgiveness,” McDonald said. “… Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t and I’m OK with that.”

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Photos of Shalomn Leon

Law enforcement sources have confirmed that a male suspect connected to last Saturday’s fatal shooting in Soufriere is in hospital in police custody.

A second male injured in the shooting is also hospitalised, sources said, but his current condition is not known.

Dead is Shalomn Leon, 19, who was fatally shot during an alleged altercation.

Shalomn’s father, Sheldon Leon, a ‘patrol officer’ with the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force — according to his Facebook page — has expressed his grief on social media, saying he is determined to get justice for his son.

“Rest in peace Shalomn but I will not rest even if it has to cost me my life. Justice for Shalomn Justice I will not rest,” he wrote on his Facebook profile on Saturday afternoon.

According to reports, the shooting occurred around 1 a.m. at an event in Soufriere after a fracas broke out between several persons. The cause of the fight is not known.

“It was a fight then during the fight some shots were fired,” a source told St. Lucia News Online on Saturday.

An “anonymous” blogger wrote on St. Lucia News Online that the deceased was innocent and there were multiple witnesses to the shooting.

“There were witnesses. Almost everyone who was there saw what happened and who did it. So sad because he was not involved at all in the altercation that occurred,” the blogger said.

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BCF officials have said criminal activities at the prison will not be tolerated.

Two women have been arrested for smuggling cell phones into the Bordelais Correctional Facility (BCF) on Saturday, Oct. 12, police sources said.

The women reportedly tried unsuccessfully to pass the phones onto the inmates.

Everyone, including visitors, is subject to searches prior to entering the facility however it appeared the cell phones were “very well hidden in the body parts” of the females, according to the sources.

The suspects are believed to be between their late teens and early 20s, the sources said.

Smuggling contraband into the BCF is nothing new. Even correctional officers have been caught attempting to smuggle illegal items into the facility over the years.

A senior officer was arrested on March 11, 2019 after he was busted with marijuana, sim cards, razors, lighters, cigarettes and other contraband. Reports had indicated that the same officer was arrested for a similar situation several years ago but the matter was dismissed.

A total of 661 items were seized at the facility on June 5, 2018. The contraband included 12 cell phones, 115 lighters, three portions of marijuana, 31 weapons, 172 blades, and 141 shavers.

BCF officials have said criminal activities at the prison will not be tolerated.

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Bordelais Correctional Facility

A 17-year-old girl has been charged for smuggling a cell phone into the Bordelais Correctional Facility and trying to pass it on to an inmate — her brother, police said.

Michealer Soumere of Bruceville, Vieux Fort was granted $1,000 bail or suitable surety when she appeared in court on Monday.

She was charged on Saturday for introducing a prohibited item into the prison.

The incident reportedly occurred last week while she was visiting her brother, accompanied by her mother.

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Law enforcement sources have confirmed the report of a homicide in Dennery.

Details are sketchy at this time, but reports reaching St. Lucia News Online are that a male individual is dead and that the incident occurred in the ‘Seabreeze area’ of La Caye.

Officials received the report of the incident at about 8 a.m. today.

Investigators from the Richfond Police Station are still at the scene gathering information.

We will provide more details as soon as they become available.

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Cletus Hippolyte, aka ‘Banana Split’

Police have arrested a female on suspicion of extortion in connection with the disappearance of 83-year-old Gros Islet resident Cletus Hippolyte, also known as ‘ Banana Split’.

Hippolyte was last seen in the Gros-Islet area between Thursday, September 26 and Friday, September 27, relatives said.

According to reports, Hippolyte, who lived alone, has gone missing for the first time.

However, the case has now taken a mysterious twist, after a male, claiming to have information about the missing man, took a number of items, including cash, from the missing man’s family, according to reliable sources.

The male made contact after telephone numbers of the missing man’s relatives were published in the media, sources said.

The male requested boat fuel, a cell phone, clothing, food, water, medication, and top-ups. He also requested that the items be dropped off at a location in Dennery.

A woman collected the items, including the cell phone, but days later leads went cold. No new information and no still no sign of their missing relative, sources further stated.

However, relatives were informed on Monday that a young female was arrested in Soufriere on suspicion of extortion after police tracked the cell phone the family provided, sources said.

We will provide more details on this developing story later today.

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Dead: Burke ‘Max’ Baptiste

Saint Lucia’s latest homicide victim has been identified as 32-year-old Burke Baptiste,  a resident of Richfond, Dennery, according to law enforcement officials.

Baptiste, also known as Max, was found unresponsive with a suspected gunshot wound to the head on Tuesday, Oct. 15, officials have told St. Lucia News Online. The body was found in a slightly secluded area in La Caye, Dennery, officials said.

The Richfond Police Station received the report at about 8:15 a.m.

Relatives told police the jet ski operator was last seen on Monday night with friends.

No additional details were available.

More details soon.

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Director of Corrections at Bordelais Correctional Facility, Hilary Herman

Authorities are investigating this week’s “physical” assault of a female inmate by three male inmates at the Bordelais Correctional Facility, an official revealed Tuesday.

The incident occurred on Monday, Oct. 14, just after 12 p.m., Director of Corrections Hilary Herman told a press briefing.

Normally male and female inmates are housed in separate units, so how did that happen?

Herman said the incident occurred in the vicinity of the medical and female unit, which are “adjoining units”. He said both males and females have access to the medical unit.

Herman explained: “Very seldom male and female inmates are together… the exceptions are in classes, in church, those incidents, but normally they’re not together…. Now the medical and female units are adjoining units…. You would have both males and females having access to that facility.”

He said “at some point” the assault occurred “in that proximity.”

“We have no further details, but it’s important that we allow the public to know that this incident did took place,” Herman said, who was days ago appointed director of the facility — his third such appointment.

Herman expressed that this issue should never have happened and the prison is now “reviewing policies and procedures”.

“Something obviously went wrong and that’s what we will have to decide upon completion of the investigation,” he said. “I know that procedures were not followed, so we have to look into why it was not followed and ensure that it doesn’t happen again.”

Herman believes the prison has become “complacent”.

“I think there’s a lot of revamping to do, to go back to standard policies and procedures, and I think this incident really directs that that needs to happen,” he said.

The assault comes a day after a 17-year-old girl, Michealer Soumere of Bruceville, Vieux Fort, appeared in court for the offence of introducing a prohibited item into the prison.

Police said, last week, Soumere smuggled a cell phone into the Facility in an attempt to pass it on to an inmate — her brother. She was accompanied by her mother at the time.

Soumere was granted $1,000 bail or suitable surety.

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Neil St Rose. (Photo credit: VINO)

A Saint Lucian man has been charged for threatening to kill a court witness in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), according to Virgin Islands News Online (VINO).

Neil St. Rose allegedly threatened a man who testified against his convicted friend.

The incident occurred on May 5, 2019 in Virgin Gorda.

At the time, the complainant was with his wife at a bar when St. Rose approached him and asked to speak with him outside, according to a police report presented by Prosecutor Kael London.

St. Rose then took the man to a parked vehicle. In it sat St. Rose’s friend who had been released from prison, VINO reported.

“That’s the man who make you go jail,” St Rose reportedly told his friend.

The complainant replied “I didn’t make you go jail” and tried to leave but St. Rose was not finished with him, according to the news report.

“I still will kill you… you not going anywhere,” St. Rose is quoted as saying to the complainant.

When allowed to leave, the man reported the matter to the police and the Saint Lucian was subsequently charged with perverting the course of justice, VINO reported.

St. Rose was granted $70,000 bail with signed sureties.

His bail conditions require him to report to the Virgin Gorda Police Station twice a week and not to make contact with the complainant.

In response to the article, some bloggers on the VINO website have called for St. Rose’s deportation. One said he should not have received bail.

Greg said: “Why are they allowing him to stay. He’s not from here and allegedly threatening a witness against his friend? Nonsense! Government, only you can stop this insanity by deporting. When the others see you mean business, their behinds will shape up fast. STOP allowing outsiders to keep people here hostage. SMDH!”

Another blogger expressed disappointment that St. Rose keeps getting himself in trouble. In 2014, two men were found guilty by a jury for attempted murder, for shooting St. Rose. CLICK HERE TO READ THAT STORY.

In 2018, St. Rose and another man were arrested and charged for armed robbery in Virgon Gorda, BVI. CLICK HERE TO READ THAT STORY.

“Rastaman! Why you keep letting those people get to you? You have a well paid job. Your good at what you do. Why year after year you just letting those clowns get the best of you? Your a quiet person but in the court room every few months will make it look like your the troubled maker……,” the blogger identified as ‘SMH’ wrote.

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(PRESS RELEASE) — On Saturday, October 12, 2019, residents of Beausejour, Gros Islet, in response to a recent vehicle theft and attempted arson case in Beausejour, held an emergency neighborhood watch meeting to strengthen security measures in their community.

The meeting, organized by the Beausejour Community Group, and facilitated by the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (Crime Prevention, Community Relations Branch) was aimed and strengthening community/police relations, and to provide training for community leaders and residents in community policing, surveillance and response, safety and security measures.

The Beausejour Community Group, over the years, had established an effective monitoring and response strategy in Beausejour, but the recent activities highlighted several areas for strengthening and for immediate implementation.

The session included group discussions, a lecture/training secession conducted by Sergeant Alex Morgan, Corporal Zachary Hippolyte and other officers from the Crime Prevention Community Relations Branch of the RSLPF.

Sergeant Morgan presented the group with pertinent information relating to an effective neighborhood watch, citizens patrol, crime prevention, home and personal property protection, personal safety, analyzing and detecting criminal behavior.

Corporal Hipployte provided the group with valuable information from his years of service as a police officer, involved in community outreach.

Over the weekend, Jim Joseph – president, Beausejour Community Group; Terry Goodman, Lera Celestin – Beausejour area heads and neighborhood watch captains, along with other members of the team, began the erection of neighborhood watch signs and other monitoring/surveillance equipment/tools in the area.

The group has taken steps in improving lighting in the community, undertaken de-bushing exercises along roads in the community, and clearing of overgrown trees in vacant lots to assist with visibility.

Over the next few weeks and months, the community group, with the assistance of the police, will continue the education and training sessions to improve the effectiveness of the neighborhood watch group in the community.

The group will continue to establish an effective communication network within the community and between themselves, the police, and other emergency response personnel.

The Beausejour community would like to publicly thank the officers of the RSLPF for going above and beyond the call of duty to assist the community of Beausejour and by extension the citizens of Saint Lucia.

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