FOUR persons have been killed in an upsurge of criminal activity that occurred this past weekend. The victims include a female Canadian national, two inner city young men and a La Clery minibus driver.
And in addition, an elderly woman was allegedly sexually assaulted in the Beausejour community.
It has been a hectic time for law enforcement officers having to grapple with this disturbing spate of criminal activity.
Consequently, in the wake of this upsurge in violent crime, police have detained a male suspect in connection with the stabbing death of the Canadian national who resided in the country.
In the most recent incident, which occurred on Monday, reports state that Shellan Francis, 21 and Danny Charlemagne, alias āDanny Catā, 28 from the Leslie Land area were allegedly gunned down to death in their neighbourhood.
Reports indicate that the victims were shot multiple times in Mondayās fatal shooting that reportedly occurred at about 5.00p.m.
Francis was a former DJ at Hot FM Communications Ltd. While conveying condolences to family and friends of the victim, a Hot FM staffer commented that: āWe ā¦are deeply saddened by news of his death.ā
Meanwhile, it has been reported that police are on the hunt for two men who were allegedly involved in the shooting.
The weekend crime spree began with reports of the stabbing death of a La Clery minibus driver, last Saturday.
According to the police, the body of Josephat Charles age 56, alias āFlyinā and also known as Glen Melvin Charles was discovered in the front seat of his bus in the vicinity of the Cul de Sac area, on Saturday about 12.45 p.m.
Reports state that when the cops arrived at the scene of the crime the victim was found with multiple stab wounds inflicted to his body.
Meanwhile, in response to this latest gruesome murder, President of the National Council of Public Transportation (NCOPT) Godfrey Ferdinand, urged minibus drivers to be more vigilant as they go about their daily task along their specified route and to be wary of dealing with strangers. He noted: āTry not to park your vehicles or go into places that are not properly lighted.ā
President of the La Clery Minibus Association, Aaron King added his voice to the incident warning bus drivers to avoid diverting from their route as this could be dangerous. āIf somebody invites you and you go outside of your jurisdiction without knowing the person ā¦that could cause problems,ā he said. āIf you donāt know the person you canāt just take a trip and go with the person.ā
Speaking on the killing of the La Clery bus driver, Ferdinand said, the council awaits further police updates as āā¦the investigation will reveal what really happened, but for now we cannot comment on the matter.ā
Charles is said to have had over 20 years experience as a bus driver; and his extra curriculum activities also involved a stint as a former basketball coach at St Maryās College (SMC).
In unrelated matters, some unfortunate news hit the Beausejour community, last weekend, with reports of the alleged murder of Nicole Dempster, 34 a foreign national from St Johnās, Canada.
According to law enforcement officials, Dempsterās body was found in a house at Beausejour, Gros Islet, where she lived ; the police were alerted on Sunday about 11.10 pm.
RSLPF Press Relations Officer Ag. Cpl. Anne Joseph told reporters that, āOn Sunday December 20, officers attached to the Gros Islet Police Station responded to a report of a homicide at Beausejour, Gros Islet. On arrival the officers noticed the unresponsive body of a female ā¦and a medical practitioner was called to the scene who confirmed death.ā
In the meantime, it was disclosed that police have held a suspect in connection with Dempsterās death.
Police report that during an operation in the Bexon community on Monday evening, a suspect was held in connection with this incident.