Editor

#TurksandCaicos, August 5, 2023 – The PDM’s appointed member to the House of Assembly may have been a bit more satisfied by Friday evening with the release of a strong statement from the president of the Turks and Caicos Hotel and Tourism Association; firmness is what everyone expects in the aftermath of another wild shooting – on Wednesday – in Grace Bay.

“We have had seven or eight murders since June 5th. We saw days where there were two murders in 24 hours. In these past two months, we have seen a shooting incident that saw 3 or 4 persons shot and by all accounts intentionally. We are seeing brazen day murders and now in the heart of Grace Bay.

In the past two years we have seen at least two beheadings and maybe a third. We have seen a trial witness killed in close proximity to CID. These historic events have whisked by without matching attention,” said Alvin Garland, Opposition Appointed member to the House of Assembly.

Garland expressed being incensed by the silence and the method of communication as violent crime grows in frequency and boldness.

“The PDM and I are calling on the Premier to address his people other than through a Press Release. The TCI has turned the corner and the question is how much more has to happen before we act decisively again?

The Minister of Tourism and TCHTA can no longer remain silent and must regain their voices to address our country’s visitors. In times when things were not as extreme, they were indeed vocal. We need leading voices and stakeholders on the record.

It is important to measure our comments in times like these but the silence must stop and the call for help must be urgently sent out,” said Garland.

Coming from the TCHTA was this, “Over the past two months, our Board of Directors has met with the Police Commissioner and the Governor’s Office to voice these concerns as we saw a serious trend starting once again of extreme violence not common to our islands.

We are concerned as an industry and as the nation’s largest employers that our citizens and guests must believe Turks & Caicos is a safe place to live and to visit.”

There has been no comment from the Minister of Tourism, however on Friday the TCHTA released its position on the shooting incident which forced a temporary road block following a barrage of bullets which left a 26-year-old man dead near a popular Grace Bay Beach access.

Hon Garland said this group was more vocal when the crime situation in the country was less serious.  Garland’s other advice, get outside help.

“We need outside help, not because we have no faith in our own, but because we need the extra skills and manpower, but this cannot be our fall back each time these acts are threatened or committed. The Bahamas assisted us greatly in stemming the violent tide and whilst we are aware that they too have their challenges, one more stint maybe warranted. But after this, we must have an ongoing plan that sees capacity built in in our own Police Organisation.”

Staff Writer 

#TurksandCaicos, August 5, 2023 – Police officers in the Turks and Caicos are, for the first time in years, preemptively expressing real concern that there will be a possible exchange of fire between warring factions following a killing in Grace Bay on August 2, and it does little to soothe residents.

“The brazen manner in which armed men carried out the murder in Grace Bay and the attack on the Police Officers in Dock Yard is shocking and highly concerning. I also remain concerned that further shootings will be carried out between gangs of young men involved in organised gang activity, motivated by drugs, guns, and retaliation.” Trevor Botting, TCI Police Commissioner, said in an August 3rd statement.

While the police have admittedly been more communicative, as of late, the messages are ringing more and more similar, with appeals for information, promises of more patrols, heightened security, and a commitment to keeping residents safe.

Missing from them are reports of concrete arrests and evidence that the brazen criminals are being watched, rounded up, and removed from the streets.

There have been over 40 murders in the last 12 months as we approach October and the anniversary of the two double murders that heralded the beginning of the bloodiest period in TCI history.

Still, barely any of the murders have been solved; gang leaders are only unmasked after their deaths, except Brandon Rahming and gangs continue their bloody march across Providenciales killing who they want, when they want, where they want.

Following the latest incident, the appeal for information is once again repeated.

“I appeal to those law-abiding residents in Dock Yard to tell us where these individuals are living and who they are, you don’t need to leave your name, just tell us what you know, and we will deal with the fear and harm they are creating within the community,” said the Commissioner.

“The Force remains committed and resolute in keeping our communities safe.” he continued.

Of the twelve murders in the Turks and Caicos so far this year, two people have been arrested.

Freelance Court Reporter

#TurksandCaicos, August 5, 2023 – An interesting chain of events unraveled in a landmark gun case, covered in early July, where a man charged with illegal firearms possession and who was caught by the person he tried to rob, was stopped and is now incarcerated under new, tougher gun laws.

The matter had been adjourned on several occasions after the accused ROUDELIN DORSAINVIL pleaded guilty to all the charges he was facing.   However, as the Supreme Court closed for its Summer break, the case of the Haitian man wrapped up.

Some of the important facts and details of the case are the convict had an accomplice that got away according to the victim witness.  During the robbery, the robbers tried to take more than what they already stolen.  They pointed the loaded gun at Wisland Mesidort and demanded his money; Mesidort had just received his salary.

This attempt was unsuccessful and the defendant and his unknown/unnamed accomplices then took off in the surrounding bush.  They were chased, and when the defendant saw they were being chased by the very ones they had just robbed, he stopped to discharge his firearm but thankfully no one was hit or injured.

Mr. Mesidort said, ROUDELIN DORSAINVIL then saw they were still being chased after the single shot, so he pointed the gun again and “this time I said In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, I block the gun.”

Despite pressing the trigger a few more times, according to the witness, the gun never fired.  It was jammed, he said.

When the now convicted Dorsainvil stopped to reload the gun, he removed the magazine, checked it out and put the magazine back.  He pointed it and tried shooting again and it still didn’t work.

Miraculously, the witness said the armed robber then put his hand into his pocket and gave back two of the stolen envelopes.

“The phone had dropped and I picked it up while we were running.  I asked him for the third envelope…. We wrestled him and held him down until police arrived.”

Dorsainvil, plead guilty and became the first person convicted under the new stiffer mandatory prison time for gun passion; he got 12 years in HMP.  He was charged with:  Carrying a Black and Silver Ruger 9mm pistol; Carrying 10 rounds of ammunition for the said 9mm pistol; Discharging Firearm; Discharging ammunition and Robbery at Gardenia Way, in Grace Bay, Providenciales.

The matter was before newly appointed His Lordship, Chris Selochan. Justice Selochan was the first, on the TCI bench to passed sentence under the new firearm amendment ordinance and he did so on 31st July 2023.

All his sentences are ordered to run concurrently.

He was represented by Ashwood Forbes, Senior Defence Counsel.

Staff Writer

#TheBahamas, August 5, 2023 – An American woman has been arrested in The Bahamas, accused of conspiring with two men, one of them alleged to be her lover, to murder her estranged husband.

The woman, 36 year old Lindsay Shiver and the two men, 28-year-old Terrance Bethel, the alleged lover and 29 year old Faron Newbold, were taken into custody last week following police investigation of a reported burglary at Grabbers Bar and Grill restaurant on Great Guana Cay.

The police looked into their cell phones and found WhatsApp messages detailing the assassination plot to kill her husband.

The couple, who built a life in South Georgia have three children and are home owners on the island in the Abacos.

News outlets throughout the US have reported on the scandalous story, including that a nasty court battle over the couple’s reported, $5 Million dollar fortune and three children was underway.  Shiver, an entrepreneur is a former beauty Alabama queen, her husband a former football player was an insurance executive.

According to US media, the husband, Robert, recently filed for divorce from Shivers after a decade of marriage upon discovering she had an alleged extra-martial affair with Bethel whom she met in The Bahamas.

While the husband claims infidelity on the part of his wife, the wife claims he was abusive.

The suspects Shiver, Bethel and Newbold appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Roberto Reckley on Friday July 28th.  Their next court date is set for October 5th.

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, August 4, 2023 – A towering hotel, a cheerful golf cart, and next to them, a young man sprawled in his own blood; that was the scene in Grace Bay Providenciales on Wednesday afternoon, when gunmen in the Turks and Caicos Islands once again, carried out an execution in broad daylight, feet from innocent residents and visitors.

Magnetic Media began to receive frantic calls just before 3 p.m. on August 2, reporting a caravan of police heading quickly toward the tourist centre.  Minutes later, residents confirmed that once again, a young man’s life had been taken in a brutal shower of bullets, and this time the murder took place just outside the entrance to a few resort.

Photos of the scene show residents peeking over perfectly trimmed hedges at the body as blood seeps onto the street. Police swarmed the scene soon after, cordoning off the area and conducting investigations.

The killing also impacted traffic as motorists were rerouted away from the grisly scene.  The shooting terrified those in the vicinity because of the sheer amount of shots, we are told by one resident.

“OMG!!!! IT WAS LIKE A MOVIE, AT LEAST 50 SHOTS.”

Police have not confirmed who the dead man is, the nature of the killing, how many spent shells were recovered or the possible motives behind the murder, which marks the 12th for 2023.

Our efforts have determined though he is Guilene ‘GB’ Baptiste, 26 years old and recently relieved of a battery of illicit drug charges at the Magistrate’s Court this past June.  Baptiste was most known as the man arrested when alleged infamous gangster and wanted murderer, Brandon Rahming was killed in a Police take-down last November. Now, ‘GB’ is gone.

What is concerning is that ‘rare’ can no longer be used to describe the nature of these daylight killings that put innocents at risk, as they are escalating in frequency and reckless in nature.

In the past three months alone, men have been gunned down near schools, businesses and a nightclub.  It is a situation that residents say is making them increasingly heartsick.  A letter to the Government; last month said: “We desire a better Turks and Caicos culture and reject the path of violence and diminished quality of life.”

The incident once again elicited a statement from the Governor; Her Excellency Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam and Washington Misick, TCI Premier jointly released the plan of the National Security Council hours after the reckless shooting.

A day later, the Commissioner of Police offered his comments on the Grace Bay shooting and another, involving Police in the community of Kew Town.

Staff Writer

#TheBahamas, August 5, 2023 – The Bahamas is now facing an unfortunate reality as sexual assault has become and is a growing issue since 2023.  Women and girls are said to be living in fear for their safety from these perpetrators.

The Royal Bahamas Police force has reported on instances of assault in press releases found on their Facebook page.

One report spoke of a 50 year old they were searching for after he burglarized a home and sexually assaulted an elderly woman, 82 years old.  She was reported to be asleep when he woke and assaulted her.

This took place on Tuesday July 11th, 2023 at the home in the Centreville area of Nassau.

There is another incident that took place on July 17th, 2023 which the police are seeking in catching the suspect as they investigate.  It involves a man believed to the perpetrator in for an armed robbery and sexual assault.

According to preliminary data, he approached the victim, a female, with a firearm, robbed her and sexually assaulted her.  He proceeded to enter the house and robbed a male and escaped.  This happened in the Cowpen Road area; also in Nassau.

The assaults continue to grow in number as the police reported that they were investigating two other incidents that took place on July 24th.

The first had to do with a female, 30 years old who reported she was driving on West on Marshall Road when two men approached her after she slowed down near Faith Avenue.  One of the males with a firearm, forced her from her vehicle and took her to nearby bushes where they sexually assaulted her after which they escaped.

The second incident involved à 32 year old woman who was sexually assaulted by a male known to her.  It is reported that she was walking in the Fleming Street area when she accepted transportation from the suspect, who drove her to a dirt road off Gladstone Road where he presented a firearm and proceeded to rape her.

Furthermore, another assault, this time involving a 9 year old girl, was reported.  As revealed by preliminary information, the victim was playing with friends outside where she lives on Saturday July 29th, 2023 when the suspect, a 42 year old male of Summerset Estate, driving a white Nissan Skyline, arrived and gestured to her to enter the car.

She entered the car after which he took her to an unknown location, threatened her and sexually assaulted her.  She was later found somewhere in Spikenard Road; this also happened in Nassau.

Fortunately, he was caught and arrested for abduction and sexual assault on Sunday July 30th by officers affiliated with the Drug Enforcement Unit.

There are other reports of sexual assault throughout The Bahamas as well as rape and attempted rape during the earlier parts of the year, dating back to as early as February.

CAPTION: Women Leaders, including Ann Marie Davis, wife of the Prime Minister filled the gallery of The Bahamas Senate this week as members of the upper chamber debated the Protection Against Violence Bill 2023.  The debate came just as the country experiences a spike in sexual assaults against women and girls.  Photo by Patrick Hanna, BIS.

Seven proactive arrests for offences such as murder, gang membership, and possession of firearms have been made as investigations continue into offences.

Additionally, the Response and Operations Division made other arrests for offences ranging from assault, malicious damage to property, possession of a firearm, motor vehicle interference, and suspicion of impersonating a police officer.

These matters remain under active investigation.

During the period Tuesday 25th July to Thursday 27th July 2023, the RTCIPF has intensified anti-crime operations in keeping with its mandate to maintain public safety and reduce criminal opportunities.

Random street checks, roadblocks, and serving arrest warrants remain ongoing in several districts within Providenciales.

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, July 17, 2023 – The Police are pleading for witnesses in the latest murder case in the Turks and Caicos that left Desmond Arthur aka Pie dead.

The man was brutally beheaded and his body discovered around 1:24 am July 5th.

Police say the attack happened in a roughly two and a half hour period between 11 pm on July 4th when he was last seen alive and when he was discovered.

His head was discovered in a separate location hours later.

Police are now asking anyone with information to make a report via 911 or CRIMESTOPPERS at 1-800-TIPS. That is 1-800-8477.

Staff Writer 

#TurksandCaicos, July 7, 2023 – Violent killings continue to rock the Turks and Caicos Islands as criminals butcher the county’s young men with extreme brutality.  The latest report is of a man beheaded, with his body dropped in one location and head in another, marking the country’s eighth murder.  

Around 2 a.m. Wednesday July 5th, the Magnetic Media news team began receiving word that another death had been recorded.

Police confirmed the account around 11 am; their report revealed that investigators found the decapitated body in Five Cays after calls were placed to them around 1:30 a.m.  As for the man’s head, it took more hours searching and the head of the man was located around 7:30 am in an area known as Club Med; a former staff quarters for the hotel.

Magnetic Media can confirm, based on police reports, that the victim is 48-year-old, Desmond Arthur also known as ‘Pie’.  He had been listed as wanted by the Safeguarding and Public Protection Unit of the Royal TCI Police in November 2021 for an unspecified offense.

The National Library of Medicine says the force needed for the complete decapitation ranges up to 7846 Newtons (N).  For context, punching force in amateur boxing is about 2500 N; to break a femur, one of the toughest bones in the body, you would need up to 4000 N.  To successfully behead another human being would take absolute brute force and as the police reveal with their classification of the killing as a murder, deadly intent.

Now concerns are mounting about the rapid fire series of killings in the country.

Over the past six months, there have been seven confirmed murders and one suspicious death.  The bulk of those cases (5) have been concentrated in a short period of time (28 days), in Providenciales.

For many residents, it is a reminder of the 2022 massacres, where dozens of young men were cut down back to back.

Even with international assistance and detectives combing through evidence, police have not yet been able to match many of the cases to the killers.

An air of fear has begun to creep into the local community once more, with residents – via social media – expressing worry about the brutal, often brazen murders.

Of the seven homicides and one suspicious death, only one individual has been charged with murder.  The rest, the vast majority of which Police say are connected to serious crime,  remain unsolved.

It is said Hutchinson overpowered an officer, who was presenting him breakfast and ran out of the station; he has not been seen since.

They reissued the wanted poster of the 36 year old Blue hills resident recently urging him to turn himself in.

Hutchinson is wanted for firearm charges and it is said, he was found sleeping in a parked car with a firearm, allegedly in his possession.