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15 Homicides Recorded

ST. LUCIA has recorded 15 homicides for the year so far, as government continues to grapple with a strategy that will reduce serious crime in the country.

Gunfights, stabbings, sexual offenses and other serious crimes continue to flood the State.

The hosting of a crime symposium last November by the Ministry of Home Affairs and National Security has yet to show tangible results at least in the area of serious crime reduction.

The country last year recorded 60 homicides.

At the time the symposium was held (November 24, 2017) 54 homicides were already recorded, prompting National Security and Home Affairs Minister Hermangild Francis to say that whatever ideas, suggestions, proposals or plans offered would not be compiled in a report to be placed on his office shelf and forgotten.

Lots of suggestions and ideas on how to combat crime on a whole came out of the symposium. These are all before Cabinet awaiting further action.

In the meantime serious crime continues unabated it seems, as even up to last weekend [Sunday] with a shooting at Hospital Road, Castries, where one man is presently nursing a bullet wound which he received to his right leg.

Police, the day before, had to contend with what they first stated was the suspicious death of Gregory Phillip alias Chucky, a 45 year old resident of New Development, Soufriere. This death was later marked as a homicide, the 15th for the year.

The incident was alleged to have occurred at Cressland and police are appealing to anyone with information regarding this incident to contact the nearest police station, or the Soufriere Police Station.

The lawmen are also seeking public assistance in the 14th homicide for the year in the stabbing death of Stephen James alias Tupac, a 29 year old resident of Patience, Mon Repos.

The 13th homicide for the year occurred last Tuesday in downtown Castries when 30-year-old Elton Raymond Fontenelle was the victim. That incident brought vehicular traffic to a standstill and forced passersby and other people in the open to duck for cover as bullets peppered the air surrounding St. Louis Street and Peynier Street.

A post mortem showed that Fontenelle’s cause of death was traumatic brain injury secondary to a gunshot wound and police is also seeking public assistance in that incident as well.

Micah George is an established name in the journalism landscape in St. Lucia. He started his journalism tutelage under the critical eye of the Star Newspaper Publisher and well known journalist, Rick Wayne, as a freelancer. A few months later he moved to the Voice Newspaper under the guidance of the paper’s recognized editor, Guy Ellis in 1988.

Since then he has remained with the Voice Newspaper, progressing from a cub reporter covering court cases and the police to a senior journalist with a focus on parliamentary issues, government and politics. Read full bio...

1 Comment

  1. Micah, year after year I keep reading about the statistics. It seem to me that
    the numbers no longer matter, we keep saying , last year we had ‘X’ amount
    the year before ‘Y’ amount like we are counting sheep for the slaughter and
    are comparing the amounts of one year against another. If we continue with
    the same attitude of reporting on what has happened, without attacking the
    reasons, the heart of the problems, then we are kidding ourselves. It is not a
    joke but it’s quickly looking more like one, and the joke is on us, all of us.
    The joker is wild and the evil one is laughing. It’s no point pointing fingers
    at any political Party, saying under this one there were more or there were less.
    Evil reigns in the absence of Holiness.This guy took his life, that one killed her
    the only common factor, is the lack of a converted Soul, vulnerable to Evil.
    WHAT ARE THE CHURCHES DOING, DAY AFTER DAY, PREACHING TO A
    CONGREGATION, HEARING THE SAME OL’ SAME OL’ TIME AFTER TIME???
    I read of one who walked about doing good, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom
    laying hands and healing the sick, He did not sit around waiting for things to happen.
    What are we doing, glorifying crime, stating statistics, and just having a goood time.

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