A x-ray showing cell phone in someone’s rectum.

A Blackberry cellphone was removed from the rectum of an inmate at the Bordelais Correctional Facility on May 8, HTS News has reported.

Clive Jules, communications officer at the Bordelais Correctional Facility, has identified the inmate as Alvin Emmanuel of Grand Riviere, Dennery.

Jules told HTS that Emmanuel, who was working on the prison’s farm, was suspected of trafficking contraband into the facility. Jules said Emmanuel was taken to the Dennery Hospital for a cavity search, during which a cell phone was discovered inside his rectum.

On the same day, another inmate was also busted for transporting marijuana in his private parts.

Jules has identified that inmate as Francis James, who was also working on the prison farm, and serving a six-month sentence praedial larceny and one month for trespassing.

Like Emmanuel, Jules said James was suspected of trafficking contraband. As a result, James was searched and a quantity of marijuana was found hidden on the foreskin of his penis.

Both men face additional prison time for the offences.

Jules told HTS that prison officials have a responsibility to ensure that “we stop all types of trafficking at our facility”. He said officials are sending a strong message to all persons involved in trafficking to desist from those practices because “we will stop at nothing to ensure they are caught”.

In April, a female Bordelais Correctional Facility officer  was arrested after two bricks of hashish was discovered in a sanitary napkin she was wearing.  Lydia Charlery, 40, of La Pointe, Mon Repos was also charged for attempting smuggle a cellphone into the prison.

A 15-year-old teen girl who was reported missing since Friday has returned home safely.

Relatives said Amber Jn’ Marie who went missing at about 5 p.m. Friday in Jacmel, returned home at about 2.p.m.

Amber is safe, but did not provide an explanation to anyone, where she was all this time.

The teen girl had left with her school bag and some of her clothes.

This is not the first time that Amber left her home without telling anyone.

The Ciceron Secondary School student went missing for a couple of days sometime last year.

The teen’s mother said Amber had asked her permission to go out with friends and when she refused to send her, she picked herself up and went on her own, returning two days later.

PRESS RELEASE - “Bet you didn’t know”. “Bet you didn’t know” is a production of the Press Office of the Royal St Lucia Police Force.

Top COPS

Bet you didn’t know that since its establishment in 1834, the RSLPF has had 13 individuals to date, responsible for managing the entire organization. Here is the full list of the RSLPFs TOP COPS to date.

•             1962-1967    Frederick Canon

•             1967-1972    Samuel H Brooks

•             1972-1976    Stanley C. Scholar

•             1976-1979     Enesley L. Pierre

•             1979-1982     Euzebe A. Lawrence

•             1982-1988     Cuthbert D. Phillips

•             1988-1991    Clive Sealy

•             1991-1993     Algernon Hemingway

•             1994-1997     Vernon Augustin

•             1998-2002      Francis Nelson

•             2002-2003      Brian Bernard

•             2004-2010      Ausbert Regis

•             2010-              Vernon Francois

BTC building.

A juvenile who was arrested and questioned in connection with a recent shooting on Chaussee Road, Castries, and placed on remand at the Boys Training Centre (BTC), has been removed from the institution.

Sources have confirmed that the 15-year-old male teenager was taken to the Bordelais Correctional Facility this morning by police officials.

Since his removal, workers there have returned to work and expressed some level of relief that he will no longer be housed at the centre.

These workers staged a walk-out yesterday (May 12) after the teen was returned to the BTC for a second time.

The court had ordered he be placed at the BTC, given that he is just 15 years old. But workers were not pleased with that decision, especially since he made several threats to injure them. And this despite the fact that special police constables were there to guard him on a 24-hour basis.

The workers deems him “very dangerous.” The teenager has been at the BTC for over five years. He has also escaped several times and is known to allegedly carry weapons and illicit drugs.

He is being held for questioning with regards to the shooting death of James Alexander Nelson, 43, of Calvary Road, Castries.

He is expected to face additional charges in connection with that same incident.

Lydia Charlery.

A female Bordelais Correctional Facility officer, who is facing drug possession charges, after being caught with the illegal substance in her private part, is still on the job.

This was confirmed with Communication Officer at Bordelais, Clive Jules, who told St. Lucia News Online (SNO) today that the officer was reinstated just a week after she was released on bail.

Lydia Charlery of La Pointe, Mon Repos was caught with two “bricks” suspected to be hashish or cannabis resin, tightly wrapped in a clear plastic bag and further concealed in foil paper in her possession on Sunday, April 12, police said.

The entire package reportedly weighed about 25 grams and was hidden in a sanitary pad worn by the correctional officer.

The 40-year-old mother of three was charged with possession of a controlled drug, intent to supply a controlled drug, attempt to introduce a controlled drug to a correctional facility and attempt to introduce a cell phone to a correctional facility.

She appeared in the First District Court on Tuesday, April 14 where she was granted bail in the sum of EC$2,500 or suitable surety.

Charlery was asked to surrender her travel documents and cannot leave the state without the court’s permission.

Asked why the officer was allowed to work, Jules said, “There is a presumption of innocence to everyone. We have to be very mindful that we don’t become the judge and the executioner. We have to allow due process to take place and only the judicial system will determine the fate and outcome of the officer.”

Jules said a date has been set for another court hearing. He could not say what the exact day was.

The hashish and the foil paper discovered in the private part of female prison officer.

Police in plain clothes arresting the man

Police from the north of the island have arrested a man in connection with an illegal firearm and ammunition.

St. Lucia News Online (SNO) first received news of the police operation at around 9:30-40 a.m. when an unmarked police vehicle with plain-clothed officers swooped down on a pickup in Marisule, Gros Islet, near the Trade Winds gap.

Unconfirmed reports are that a shot was fired, but it is not clear who fired the shot.

A marked police vehicle arrived on the scene a few minutes later, about 9:57 a.m.

The suspect, who is believed to have been on board the private vehicle, was arrested for possession of a firearm and ammunition.

More details later.

Sahab Jamshidi, second from right, sits in court in St. Lucia on Wednesday with friends. His father, far left, was also by his side. (Shervon Alfred)

CBC NEWS - A Canadian man charged with the drowning death of a four-year-old St. Lucian boy appeared in court on the Caribbean island on Wednesday to hear the case against him.

Sahab Jamshidi of Ancaster appeared in High Court as the prosecution presented its evidence. He’ll be back in court on May 21, when his lawyer, Alberton Richelieu, will have a chance to challenge the prosecution case. After that, a judge will determine if he is to stand trial.

Jamshidi faces charges of death by gross negligence or recklessness after Terrel Joshua Elibox drowned on Feb. 22. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Jamshidi says he was kitesurfing and tried to rescue the boy after spotting him bobbing in the water of Bois Shadon beach in the southern town of Vieux Fort.

The boy’s family says Jamshidi took him on a kitesurfing ride.

The four-year-old’s body was found floating two days later off nearby Coconut Bay Beach.

Jamshidi studied medicine at Destiny University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in St. Lucia. When the incident happened, he was on holiday while he waited to hear back from medical residency applications. His family has set up a website, freesahab.com, devoted to his case.

He remains free on bail.

A St. Lucia national was ordered to be held in a federal detention facility after she arrived in a boat on the East End of St. John along with 38 Cuban migrants.

U.S. Magistrate Ruth Miller ruled the woman, identified as Kurcharma Mishkia St. Luce, 23, a material witness in the case against Alain Rene Leichtnam, 71.

Authorities accuse Leichtnam of being the operator of the catamaran Mazurka, which brought the migrants to St. John, US Virgin Island.

In court documents St. Luce, a native of St. Lucia, told agents from the Department of Homeland Security Leichtnam was her boyfriend.  They were both taken into custody by the U.S. Coast Guard on April 30 as Leichtman dropped off the Mazurka’s passengers.

The woman told investigators she and family members were socializing with Leichtnam on board the catamaran on April 25.  When Leichtnam left the next morning to buy water in preparation for a trip another man appeared along with Cubans and boarded them, St. Luce said.

When the boat left port the woman told authorities she thought they were headed to St. Martin, but she heard the Cubans on board saying “St. John” and “St. Thomas,” according to the documents. But when she asked Leichtnam what the extra people were doing on board he did not answer her, she told authorities.

Investigators said St. Luce told them she decided she would not press the matter because she did not want 38 angry Cubans on her hands so she went along with the change of plans.

Defense attorney Joseph DiRuzzo said the magistrate agreed with prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office when they called St. Luce a material witness against Leichtnam.

Because she is not a U.S. citizen and has no ties to the Virgin Islands community, she was remanded to the federal detention center in Puerto Rico, pending further proceedings.

The crowd at the scene of the homicide in La Fargue.

PRESS RELEASE - On Wednesday, May 13, 2015, the police proffered a charge of Murder against 53 year old, Pontianus Francis of La Fargue, Choiseul.

Francis made an appearance before the Second District court where he was remanded into custody until June 24, 2015.

Francis has been charged in connection with the homicide of his 22 year old stepson, Keithbert Albert.

Albert was stabbed in the chest during an altercation with Francis.

A motor vehicle bearing registration number PK3444 that was stolen Wednesday night in Micoud, has been found.

The vehicle was recovered in the Desruisseaux area on Thursday.

The owner has thanked St. Lucia News Online for assistance in recovering the vehicle.

A gang war in Ravine Poisson on Thursday evening, led to a young male losing his leg.

Reports are that the incident occurred at about 11:00 p.m.

It all started when two youth gangs began hurling bottles at each other.

This led to four men from one gang chasing after one man from the other gang.

Reports are that the four men started to beat the young male and used a sharp object to cut off his leg.

Police have since arrested three of his attackers.

A La Clery man who police said tried to escape from a special patrol has been charged with the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Robert Ricardo Alcindor, aka “Conqueror” of Yorke Hill, La Clery, was also charged with failure to stop based on the instruction of a police, driving a vehicle without a licence and driving an uninsured vehicle.

Acting on information, a police patrol intercepted a vehicle that was being driven by Alcindor along one of the Marisule feeder roads before the Eastwinds gap, heading North.

During a search on his vehicle, police found a 9 MM semi automatic pistol and 13 matching rounds of ammunition.

He is expected to make a court appearance to face these charges soon.

PRESS RELEASE - On Thursday, May 14, 2015 about 12:50 p.m. 60 year old, Edwina Jane Crutchley, an English National was robbed by an individual known by features at Vigie, Castries.

Crutchley was assaulted and dragged into the Vigie Cemetery where a quantity of her valuables was stolen.

Police Investigations into the matter are continuing.

PRESS RELEASE - On Thursday, May 14, 2015 about 11:30 p.m. officers attached to the Criminal Investigations Department responded to a chopping incident at Ravine Poisson, Bexon.

Upon arrival, the officers were informed that a male individual sustained multiple chop wounds to his left leg by a known assailant and was transported to the Victoria Hospital.

The victim was later identified as 35 year old, Timothius Sexius of Ravine Poisson. Sexius underwent surgery resulting in his left leg being amputated.

Investigations are continuing into this matter.

This undated handout photo provided by the US Coast Guard shows US Coast Guard Cutter Vigilant.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thirty-eight Cuban migrants caught trying to sail to the U.S. are stranded aboard a U.S. Coast Guard vessel, waiting for permission from the Cuban government to return home, The Associated Press has learned.

The would-be immigrants had tourist visas to the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia when they were intercepted at sea by the Coast Guard, U.S. officials said.

The Cuban government has refused re-entry to island because their return does not comport with a repatriation agreement with the U.S., one official said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the situation.

The migrants were among about 96 Cubans who were intercepted at sea and taken aboard the Coast Guard cutter Vigilant, a 210-foot ship operating out of Port Canaveral, Florida. The ship typically carries 75 officers and crew. The Cuban government allowed the return of the other 58 people.

Under U.S. law, Cuban nationals who make it onto U.S. soil are granted permission to come into the country and can quickly become legal permanent residents and eventually U.S. citizens. Migrants caught at sea generally are sent back to Cuba. The Cuban government has historically allowed U.S. authorities to quickly repatriate those migrants caught at sea.

The migrants were found near the Virgin Islands in late April and have been aboard the Vigilant in international waters since, one of the officials said.

The so-called wet-foot-dry-foot policy has long angered Cuba’s communist leaders who have argued that the policy encourages Cuban citizens to make the treacherous trip across the Florida Straits, often on homemade rafts or rickety boats in hopes of landing on U.S. soil.

In recent years, the Cuban government under President Raul Castro has made it easier for Cubans to travel overseas by eliminating a decades-old and unpopular exit visa requirement.

The decision to keep the migrants from returning is likely to cause a diplomatic rift as both governments have been negotiating conditions for re-establishing diplomatic relations. Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro announced the effort in December.

The United States and Cuba are trying to wrap up an agreement in the coming days that would allow them to re-establish embassies and post ambassadors to each other’s capitals after a half-century interruption. Officials from both governments were planning to meet in Havana Friday to discuss the situation.

Roberta Jacobson, the top U.S. diplomat for Latin America, will meet Josefina Vidal, her Cuban counterpart, next week in Washington.

The biggest obstacle to restoring full diplomatic relations is almost gone: the U.S. designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism. Obama announced his intention last month to delist Cuba, and the change will become effective May 29, when a 45-day waiting period expires. The designation has ramifications for Cuban access to international financial institutions.

Lingering matters include the ability of U.S. diplomats to travel freely in Cuba and speak with dissidents. Ironically, migration has been one of the issues that American and Cuban officials say they’ve had the greatest cooperation on.

PRESS RELEASE - “Know you laws” is a production of the Press Office of the Royal St Lucia Police Force.

Did you know? According to Section 73 of the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act 2008

73.       DANGEROUS DRIVING

(1)        A person shall not —

(a)        cause the death of another person by dangerous driving; or

(b)        drive dangerously on any road.

(2)        A person who contravenes subsection (1)(a), commits an offence and is liable, on conviction on indictment, as follows—

(a)        to imprisonment for a term not less 5 years and not exceeding 15 years; and

(3)

(a)        Where a person is charged under subsection 1(a), the licence of the person to drive a motor vehicle is suspended until the charge has been determined.

(b)        A person who contravenes subsection 3(a) commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not less than $1,000 and not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment of a term not exceeding one year.

(4)        A person who contravenes subsection (1)(b) commits an offence and is liable—

(a)        on summary conviction to a fine not less than $1,000 and not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both and in addition to the sanction specified under section 106; or

(b)        on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both, and in addition to the sanction specified under section 106.

(5)        In determining whether driving is dangerous for the purpose of this section the court shall consider all the circumstances of the driving including—

(a)        the speed and manner of driving;

(b)        the nature, condition and use of the road; and

(c)        the amount of traffic that is actually on the road at the time of the alleged offence, or might reasonably be expected to be on the road at that time.

The RSLPF would like to inform the motoring public to always exercise caution when driving. Always obey traffic signs and other traffic devices.

This has been “Know Your Laws”. We at the Royal Saint Lucia Police force encourage the citizenry to read and study the laws which governs our society. Never forget that knowledge is power.

PRESS RELEASE - The Government of Saint Lucia has become aware of an Associated Press story dated May 15, 2015, reporting that “thirty eight Cubans caught trying to sail to the United States had tourist visas to the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia when they were intercepted at sea by the Coast Guard.”

An investigation has been launched into the matter to determine how the alleged visas appeared in the passports of the Cuban nationals, since Cuban nationals do not require tourist visas to visit Saint Lucia.

The Government of Saint Lucia is in touch with the Cuban and American authorities on this matter.

* Not the actual cocaine seized by the police.

PRESS RELEASE - On Wednesday, May 16, 2015 a police operation was conducted on the Odsan/Bexon Highway.

As a result of the operation, the police intercepted a minibus driven by a Saint Lucian national.

A search conducted on the said vehicle revealed seventeen blocks of a whitish substance suspected to be cocaine. The Saint Lucian national and a French national were arrested and taken into police custody.

On Monday, May 18, 2015 police proffered charges of Possession of Controlled Drug and Intent to Supply Controlled Drug against 32 year old, Kevin Albert of Marigot, Castries and 45 year old, Gerard Chaver-Moutou of Vaulcin, Martinique.

The men are scheduled to make an appearance before the First District Court on Tuesday, May 19, 2015.

The cocaine has an estimated street value of EC$500,000.00.

Katelan Desma Jeremie (inset) and her deceased baby fathers, Arthur Paul Jones and Kerison Joseph.

A 19-year-old mother of two from Bagatelle, Castries is now mourning the tragic death of a second baby father in less than three years.

In the most recent incident, Katelan Desma Jeremie lost 34-year-old Kerison Joseph of La Croix Maingot, Castries – the father of her eight-month-old son - in a motor vehicle accident on the Bexon Highway on Saturday, May 16, 2015, at around 9 p.m.

On Thursday, November 29, 2012, at around 1 a.m., Jeremie lost the father of her three-year-old daughter (then seven months old) – Arthur Paul Jones – in a shooting incident in Trouya, Gros-Islet.

Friends and relatives of the teen mother, who turns 20 this year, told St. Lucia News Online (SNO) that Jeremie is taking the loss “hard”, adding that it is hurtful to know that both children will grow up without a father.

Joseph’s death will also leave a huge financial hole for the unemployed mother to cover, a relative said.

According to a police press release, on Saturday, motor pickup, registration number TE8723, driven by 62-year-old Hyacinth Franklin of La Clery, Castries was travelling in a northerly direction and motorcycle, registration number PJ341, driven by Joseph in the opposite direction, when they collided with each other.

As a result of the collision, police said both vehicles received extensive damage and Joseph sustained serious injuries. Joseph was transported to the Victoria Hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries, police said.

Joseph, affectionately known as BK and Tall Man, was a well-known tour guide from Joe Knows boat tours. His favourite phrase was “Es ou ni che” (meaning, “do you have guts (or heart)?”), which was written on his motorcycle’s registration plate.

Meanwhile, Jones was shot several times shot while walking in Trouya between 12 midnight and 1 a.m.  in November 2012.

Jones, who was 27 at the time of his death, was reportedly leaving the home of a female friend when he was ambushed.

Four persons were reportedly in custody assisting police with the investigations, but is not known if they were ever charged.

Police at the time theorised that Jones’ death may have been linked to a shooting earlier that year that left one person dead and another seriously wounded.

Deceased: Arthur Jones (shooting) and Kerison Joseph (vehicle accident).

The spots where Arthur Jones (Trouya – left photo) and Kerison Joseph (Bexon – right) met their deaths less than three years apart.