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.

Freelance Court Reporter

#TurksandCaicos, July 3, 2023 – It was a sigh of relief for many in the Turks and Caicos, more so Providenciales when on November 23, 2023 the man who the police said was a notorious “gang leader” and responsible for the vicious killing spree on the island – Brandon Rahming – was shot and killed.  It happened during a morning police operation at Dockyard Providenciales.

Shortly after the shooting death of Rahming, Trevor Botting, TCI Police Commissioner told the public of another man who was arrested and taken into custody.

Magnetic Media can confirm, that, this male individual was 25 year old GUILENE JEAN BAPTISTE aka ‘JB’ of Dock Yard Providenciales.

Police on November 30, 2023 after holding Baptiste for seven days, charged him with six counts related to alleged possession of illicit drugs. The narcotics listed were:  cocaine, pills, weed and other substances.

Baptiste appeared before the Magistrate’s Court and was remanded to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation until he was granted bail some days later. Having been released on bail, the matter came up before the Magistrate’s Court on several occasions including Wednesday 28th June, 2023.

When the matter was called before Her Honour, Oreika Selver-Gardiner, the prosecutor Nayasha Hatmin was still not ready to proceed.

Attorney for the accused man, Sheena Mair subsequently made an application for the matter to be dismissed.

The learned Resident Magistrate Selver-Gardiner, granted the dismissal.

Editorial Staff

#TurksandCaicos, July 3, 2023 – There are gangs in the Turks and Caicos, some headed by foreigners, some headed by our own locals, trafficking in guns and killing rivals in broad daylight; and the police have a good idea of who is running them but the public has been left in the dark; the question is why?

It was in October 2022 that then governor Nigel Dakin revealed, in an explosive speech to the House of Assembly, that the country not only had well established gangs with clearly defined leaders, but the police were monitoring them and knew of the top ‘lieutenants’.

As recently as June 2023 the force has been able to pinpoint which murders are connected to serious crime hinting at inside knowledge.

These set of facts raise the question of why the public has not been clued in, essentially allowing these people to keep their anonymity as they continue to operate criminal enterprises from the shadows.

No gang names, suspected frequented areas or recruitment patterns have been released to the residents of the Turks & Caicos Islands.  Sharing available information with the public regarding any identifying markers, sigils, colours, clothing or signs associated with the gangs in the Turks and Caicos has, according to some experts, the potential to increase surveillance of these criminal organizations exponentially.

“Police officers have unique knowledge of — and access to — individual citizens, including at-risk youth. Although the police are already engaged in a large number of prevention activities, they should be looking for opportunities to collaborate with other agencies and groups in the community,” says the US National Institute of Justice (NIJ)

While many do, not all gangs have identifying markers, regardless, the NIJ explains how gangs are formed and how police (and residents) can throw a wrench in this system even without physical signs.

They say gang-joining is the problem that fuels gangs and stopping this can bring the whole organization to its knees. An effective way of stopping gang recruitment is through ‘collective efficacy’ which is clear partnership between agencies to work against gangs, the NIJ reveals  .

“The evidence is clear that neighbourhoods and communities with high collective efficacy have the ability to regulate and control the behaviour of their juveniles,” the organization maintained.

But for that to happen residents must be clued in.  This starts with admitting there is a problem and sharing information.

It has taken years for the Royal TCI Police to even declare that gangs have strongholds in the island of Providenciales.

“The police should play a key role in providing a sober, realistic assessment of any gang problem— or potential gang problem — sometimes school and elected officials engage in denial at the early stages of a gang problem.  This only allows things to get worse, increasing the potential that more kids will be recruited into a gang,” the report contends.

The gang problem in the Turks and Caicos did not spring up overnight, in fact years prior, authorities had rejected the idea that criminal gangs were forming under their noses.

As recently as 2018, Rodney Adams, Assistant Commissioner of Police maintained that the TCI had no gangs.  The TCI Sun quotes him as saying:

“Certainly, as far as we are concerned, there will be no gangs in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Plain and simple— When you look at a gang from a global perspective, they have leaders, proper networking in place and that sort of thing.  In the TCI we have a number of people that gather together as groups and talk about turfs, be it the ‘Wheeland Boys’, ‘Five Cays’ and so on.  And as far as we are concerned, they have not developed to that (gangster) stage.”

That spiel ended with a promise not to let these little ‘gatherings’ grow into true gangs. Now 5 years later an anti-gang task force has had to be flown in from the UK after a year of violence so intense it made international headlines. Nearly all of it has been attributed to gangs with individuals like Gari Charles and Brandon Rahming emerging as gang leaders.

The law has also been amended to say that any combination of two or more persons whether formally or informally organised who engage in gang related activity are considered a ‘gang’.

Still the public is walking blind.

Following the killings in 2022 there has been no sustained effort either from the Department of Social Services to educate parents and teachers on what to look for in their children and students that indicate possible growing gang affiliation.  The vast majority of victims of violence and perpetrators of gun and drug offences in the TCI continue to be young men, in far too many cases, teens.

Based on expert advice, now is the time for authorities to include and educate the community if they expect to seriously tackle the issue of gangs in the country and stifle any possible recurrence of the deadly 2022 year.

Staff Writer

#TheBahamas, February 24, 2023 – The Bahamas is preparing to launch an office in the Turks and Caicos Islands.  The move comes as the TCI looks to its diaspora, especially in the Bahamas, to build up the ranks of blood related locals.  The announcement came from Premier Washington Misick on February 13th at a diaspora conference in Nassau.

“The Minister for Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell has indicated it is also the intention of The Government of The Bahamas to set up an office in Providenciales,” he said.

The Turks and Caicos is also in the middle of setting up an office in The Bahamas to facilitate closer cooperation between the countries on matters of Immigration, Border Security and more, a decision which was only natural given the relationship between the nations according to the Premier .

“We have been friends from time immemorial, we have shared governors— I understand many of our records are in your archives,” he said to a round of laughter.

The TCI has been working together on matters like defense and immigration for some time and the combined action taken against the violence in 2022 was a testament to that collaboration.

Officers from The Bahamas were the only foreign ‘boots on the ground’, facing down criminals alongside TCI officers.  Both countries simultaneously listed “gang leader”, Brandon Rahming as ‘wanted’ as well; removing what may have been a possible escape for the now-deceased murder suspect.

The collaboration is set to continue according to Misick, as the countries navigate the future they will likely do so together.

Staff Writer 

#TurksandCaicos, December 22, 2022 – Police have reportedly privately cleared former officer Leonie Higgs-James of any connection to Brandon Rahming but have not yet addressed the rumours in the public space, according to her attorney Laura Maroof-Missick.

The police issued a press release on December 3rd advising of a criminal investigation into an unnamed, former officer being opened after serious allegations were made against the individual on social media. The TCI Police Commissioner went as far as to appeal for any information on corruption within the Force.

The statement, issued on December 3 said:  “The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force is aware of comments being made on social media platforms alleging corruption by a former member of our staff.

The seriousness of these allegations has triggered the commencement of a criminal investigation.

Commenting on the matter, Commissioner of Police Trevor Botting said: “I am asking that if any person has evidence of police corruption or any other criminal activity, provide this information directly to me, an officer (s) whom you trust or through Crime Stoppers.”

Though no officer was named, the statement followed harsh comments in the public domain about the silence of the Royal TCI Police in the face of the widespread accusations.

The resigned former woman police was accused of having a sexual relationship with Brandon Rahming, who was fingered for a string of heartless murders and TCI’s most wanted man.  Rahming was killed in a police raid of a site where he was hold-up in Dock Yard Providenciales on November 23. The ex-cop, now apparently exonerated, was also said to have been tipping Rahaming off about police movements.

All of it is now denied and the woman police vindicated; but not publically.

Her attorney has vehemently refuted the claims and called out the Police for refusing to speak on the issue while the former officer, having served 14 years feared for her own safety and that of her family.

Maroof explained that:

•  Her client resigned on November 2nd
•  Police commissioner Trevor Botting accepted that resignation on November 22nd
•  Her resignation had nothing to do with Rahming
•  The Head of the Serious Crimes Unit has cleared Higgs-James of any wrongdoing

After weeks of police calling for his arrest and connecting him to the crime spree that had terrorized the country, naturally residents were incensed when the rumours of a connection between the criminal and an officer began to circulate.

The Royal Turks and Caicos islands police did not use any platform to dispel the rumours and four days since the media statement from her attorney, there continues to be silence on the matter from the Police.

The attorney of Leonie Higgs-James believes information verifying the validity of the claims was easily obtained by Police; yet nothing was done by TCI Police to investigate and put an end to the dangerous allegations.

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, December 20, 2022 – The sole survivor of the October 31st tragedy which took the lives of four family members including an unborn baby will receive British Overseas Territory Citizenship cementing her as a part of the Turks and Caicos family.

The seven-year-old girl’s status was confirmed by His Excellency Nigel Dakin, TCI Governor after the burial of her mother Phenix Gertrude, baby brother Videm Ceasar Jr; unborn sibling and who we are learning was her stepfather Videm Ceasar.

Dakin said the documents were signed this week and will be handed over to the child next week.

The young girl, still said to have her biological father in her life, is “being well looked after by professionals in the public and medical service [with] help from private individuals” her family told Dakin.

A little over a month ago, the young girl was forced to sit and wait for help for hours after experiencing being shot in a hail of bullets targeting her family.  She was discovered by Dock Yard residents, in shock and injured in the car; the lone survivor in the horrible attack.

For the first time, we have names attached to that gruesome and heartless act including the suspect in the killing: Brandon Rahming, noted “gang leader” who was himself killed by Police, in a manhunt.

Governor Dakin shared the information in his Instagram post.

Demands for the child to be legitimised had rang out from several corners of the country.  The consideration of citizenship was exacerbated by word within the community that her stepfather, had been assisting the police in their investigation into the deadly gang activity.

Police never confirmed this widely believed detail, however.

Nonetheless, today the child has a home within the Turks and Caicos with the help and support of the Office of the Governor.

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, December 20, 2022 – A former woman cop who had public allegations made against her regarding involvement with alleged “gang leader”, Brandon Rahming has spoken out after weeks of silence saying she has been cleared by the TCI Police.

The Royal TCI Police have however not informed of the conclusion in the probe into the former member of the Force.

Former police officer Leonie Higgs-James, who is married, had a criminal investigation opened against her after the allegations that she had a relationship with Rahming and may have been tipping him off, surfaced on social media.

Higgs-James’ attorney Lara Maroof-Misick said her client had resigned before the rumors which had occurred in early December and before Rahming’s death.

“Please be aware that these claims are all completely FALSE.  Mrs. Higgs was not in any form of relationship with wanted criminal Brandon Rahming.  Mrs. Higgs had never spoken to, communicated with, or met Brandon Rahming.  The claim that there was an internal police email stating that messages were found between her and Brandon Rahming was a totally false claim.”

Her attorney said that the police had conducted its investigations and found there were no messages between the “gang leader” and Higgs-James and she was not a suspect in the case.

She described the social media claims as “malicious”.

“Her resignation had nothing to do with Brandon Rahming and in fact she gave notice of resignation weeks before his death. It is believed that a malicious person created and posted these false claims in order to have the community turn on Mrs. Higgs and to destroy her reputation; these claims gained momentum as people shared these posts over and over without knowing whether they were factually correct.”

Now that the former officer has been cleared of any wrong doing, according the media statement, her attorney said a criminal investigation has been launched into the origin of the rumors.

“These false social media posts have caused immense distress for Mrs. Higgs and her family and caused them to fear for their safety.  We hope that this press release will help to clarify the true position for the public.  We also hope that those responsible are held accountable for their actions which have caused so much unnecessary distress,” the attorney said

Notably the rumors contained allegations that evidence had been found and shared between the police on their internal servers. In announcing that they were launching a criminal investigation against the officer they did not clear of these rumors.  They have also not taken the chance to address the public and clear Higgs-James’ name despite finding no evidence of her being involved with the gang leader

The attorney described this as regrettable and expressed hope the Police would address it soon.

Editorial Staff

#TurksandCaicos, December 5, 2022 – A member of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police is under investigation after serious allegations surfaced online and others from the Force may face criminal scrutiny as the Police Commissioner is soliciting evidence about any other corrupt cops.

In a statement, which followed a string of social media comments on the weekend about the silence of Police on disturbing allegations, they revealed the criminal investigation into one of their own.

The statement, on Saturday, also acknowledged the online rumours.

“The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force is aware of comments being made on social media platforms alleging corruption by a former member of our staff.”

Police declined to name the member of staff or give any significant details in the brief nine line release.  However, prior to Commissioner of Police Trevor Botting’s comments, social media had exploded with allegations that a female officer was not only involved somehow with the TCI’s recently deceased most wanted man Brandon Rahming, but that the officer may have been feeding police intel to Rahming who was wanted in two countries for firearms offences and murder.

Magnetic Media cannot confirm these allegations, however, they apparently held enough validity to cause there to now be an investigation into the former police officer, according to the Saturday statement.

That police statement was yet another which trudged behind a firestorm of outrage over the silence of the TCI Police.  There were demands for an acknowledgment of the situation and others questioned the sincerity of statements by Commissioner Botting and others which aim to engender a relationship of trust between the Force and the Public.

“You should have long dispelled the rumours and the social media circulations by updating us with the truth regarding this —- It’s really a shame and a disgrace your department is even being named with such wrongs and questionable behaviours, but someone should have come forward and cleared the air because it’s really smokey out here.  We deserve to know the truth, should we continue doing business with them as a police officer or not?”  The resident contended.

The excerpt is from an open letter sent by a concerned citizen to high ranking officials and pointing out that if the rumours of an unethical relationship between Rahming and a serving member of the TCI Police were true, TCI residents giving information to Police in their investigations could themselves be at risk.

A point so ‘on point’ that it pulled the Commissioner out of the shadows and residents got some reassurance; that yes an investigation is on into the woman police.

Describing the unnamed individual who is now part of a scandalous probe, as a ‘former’ officer, the statement also did not divulge whether the officer was terminated or had resigned.

What is noteworthy also, in the statement from Saturday, Commissioner Trevor Botting has asked that information of any other corrupt member of the Force be turned in, directly to him.

Editor

#TurksandCaicos, December 5, 2022 – Dock Yard in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos was the site of a new shooting on Sunday where  two men were injured in the attack around 9:30am; Police say the incident “does not appear to be gang related.”

It is the first reported shooting in the islands since Brandon Rahming was gunned down by police on November 23; also in Dock Yard.

“Based on initial police reports, at around 9:27am, the Police Control Room received a call of gunshots being heard.  A team of officers were dispatched to the location.

The RTCIPF can confirm that two men were shot and remained warded in the hospital.”

No vital statistics are shared on the men; their conditions are also unknown.  Police did inform they have retrieved a firearm from the scene and are warning against sharing video described as, “part of the incident”.

Rodney Adams, Acting Commissioner of Police said, “I wish to remind the public to desist from circulating such images as they can impede the ongoing investigation.  In addition, if you are in possession of any footage taken, I kindly ask that you hand it over to the police as this may assist with the furtherance of our investigations.”

Adams said the investigators will follow the evidence to say more concretely the motive for the shooting.  No suspects appear to have been taken into custody and a fresh appeal for information in the case was made.

“…tell us what you know.  We are committed to ensuring your safety and security in these beautiful by nature Turks and Caicos Islands.”

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, November 25, 2022 – ‘Anti-Gang Policing Operations will continue’ was the decisive first line in Governor Nigel Dakin’s statement obtained by Magnetic Media on Thursday after the death of “gang leader” Brandon Rahming; answering one of the main questions of islanders who are hoping to see peace restored to the streets of Providenciales.

Dakin, who heads National Security for the Turks and Caicos Islands maintained that the death of suspects is not ever an outcome police seek out, but as law enforcers, he maintained members will not hesitate “If the Police Officer fears for his life, or another’s life.”

The Governor said Rahming threatened the police with lethal force.

“In a pre-planned policing operation, he is reported to have chosen to confront and threaten, with lethal force, the Police and was shot dead. An associate sensibly chose instead to surrender, and is in Police custody.”

He assured residents that the significant policing operations will continue across the islands.

“This is by no means the end to the Policing Operations you have witnessed in the last month Rahming’s death does not mean we can relax. The Police are on the front foot and intend to stay there. Our continued development of the Forces anti-gang capability therefore continues. The Bahamas contingent will remain with us while newly recruited specialist firearms officers are embedded in the RTCIPF.”

Police also expect to be able to give some families closure as the two weapons recovered from the scene will be forensically examined and should help resolve some of the murders for which Rahming may have been responsible.