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NEWS
April 13 - 19, 2013
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
Two men arrested for burglary and assaulting vacationing couple
Shekera Clarke and Latoya Knowles cover their faces with an umbrella after court dismissal
Lashanda Smith secures her face with a Lawyer's robe
Four women accused of credit card scandal committed to trial THREE sisters and a cousin were up in court this week for their alleged involvement in massive credit card fraud. Shekera Clarke, Kiskidee Smith, Latoya Knowles and Lashanda Smith, appeared in Providenciales Supreme Court on Tuesday before Hon. Chief Justice Edwin Goldsbrough. They faced a sufficiency hearing for the alleged theft of a black Visa card around November 24 last year. The four womenhave been slapped with 31 charges - 12 joint and 19 separate charges – including theft, handling stolen goods, attempting to obtain property by deception, theft of a chosen action, forgery, uttering forged
documents and obtaining property by deception. Knowles was represented by attorney Oliver Smith; Kiskidee Smith was represented by Kwame Smith, Clarke was represented by Laura Maroof and Lashanda Smith by Glenda Clarke. Court heard that the owner of the card did not know the whereabouts of his card after last using it on November 23 at the Mango Reef restaurant in Providenciales. On November 24, he received information that someone had used his card at various Providenciales locations including Quality Supermarket, Building Materials, Kishco, Max’s Mini Mart, Miss Moonies, Executive Tours, KB Homes and Danny Buoys. More than $2,000 was spent at Kishco, more than $1,000 at KB
Homes and more than $800 at the Quality supermarket. On March 1, an application was granted for legal aid for two of the Smiths and Clarke, while Knowles remained a private client. Their bail application was extended and the conditions remain the same. These conditions include one surety of $8,000, no contact with any of the prosecution witnesses, surrendering all travel documents and reporting to the Five Cays police station every Monday between the hours of 8am and 8pm. They are scheduled to appear in the Grand Turk Supreme Court on April 26, for a plea and directionhearing where the girls will plead innocent or guilty to the said charges. If they decide not to attend they will be arrested.
THE EMPLOYMENT Services Department of the Turks and Caicos Islands in conjunction with the Hotel and Tourism Association will be hosting an employment registration drive in Providenciales on Tuesday, April 16, at the Gustarvus Lightbourne Sports Centre from 10am to 6pm. The employment registration is part of the department’s efforts to encourage persons who are unemployed to register and utilise the services of the department. Representatives from NHIP and NIB are expected to be at the event to facilitate questions on entitlements those who are unemployed may have. Representatives from the various hotels/resorts will also be on site to bring presentations to familiarise individuals of the opportunities that exist in the industry, the expectations of an employer, what the employer looks for when hiring and opportunities for upward mobility in the industry.
As a means of further encouragement, employees from hotels/resorts represented are expected to share their own personal success stories. The 2013 graduating classes from the high schools on island were also invited to the drive to be preregistered. According to the department, preregistration will better assist the new graduates with summer employment and long term employment for those who remain in the Turks and Caicos. Minister of Immigration, Labour and Border Control, Ricardo DonHue Gardiner, in a prior interview, told the Weekly News there will be several registration drives to encourage persons to assist the Government in tackling the unemployment issue. He stressed that unemployed persons must register with the Labour Department. Gardiner said: “What we need people to do is register. There is an
urgent need for people to register. “If they register then we can know what positions people are qualified for and we can better assess permits that come up for renewal. “It is difficult to make sure we have jobs that go to Turks and Caicos Islanders without the figures. “The unemployment numbers are roughly 1,000 but this is not a real figure because there are persons who are not registered.” “We are also hoping to pull off a job fair soon that will pull together people from the hotel and tourism industry and the construction sector, among others. “This will double as a registration drive. Registration also helps us with regulating NHIP to have it stay current, so to speak.” The Minister maintained that several different initiatives, taken together, will comprehensively address the employment issue in the Turks and Caicos Islands. (VANESSA NARINE)
BY DAISY HANDFIELD
ANTONIO Luciano, 17 and Shamado Hutchinson 32, appeared in Providenciales Magistrate Court on Tuesday in relation to an aggravated burglary on a vacationing couple which occurred on March 6 in the Turtle Tail area. Police received reports that three individuals entered a residence and assaulted the couple before escaping with a quantity of items as well as a motor vehicle. The victims were taken to the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre and treated for non-life threatening injuries. The men have been charged with aggravated burglary, causing grievous bodily harm, conspiracy and taking a motor vehicle without authority. Hutchinson has an additional
Cullen Johnson
charge for wounding. They were not required to enter a plea but were remanded in custody until a Sufficiency Hearing on June 7 before a judge in the Supreme Court on Providenciales. An additional person is expected to be charged in relation to this matter soon. Luciano also has also been charged with assault and robbery in relation to an incident in the Grace Bay area on March 27 where a vacationing family were robbed by four men in their rented villa. Luciano, a 15-year-old male, WilkieArthur, 38 and Lorenzo Rigby, 21,were remanded in custody and will appear in the Supreme Court in Providenciales on June 7 for that case.
Elaine Whyte
Two alleged Employment registration drive set for Tuesday international fraudsters denied political asylum CANADIAN duo, Cullen Johnson, 64, and Elaine Whyte, 69, who have been in the Turks and Caicos Islands since the latter part of last year, have been denied political asylum. Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Border Control and Labour, Clara Gardiner, confirmed with the Weekly News that the two did not qualify and would be extradited to Canada. The two had applied to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for political asylum in September. The two alleged international fraudsters were caught on Providenciales in August and charged with a number of immigration violations. They are said to be wanted in Canada and the United States of America (USA) for money fraud, as well as other possible crimes. Immigration officials in
Providenciales picked up Johnson and Whyte after the USA and Canada issued international warrants for their arrests. They first appeared in court on August 28 with their attorney, Mr. Alvin Garland. The Weekly News learnt that the two were further remanded to the Grand Turk prison for 28 days during an appearance in the Magistrate Court in Grand Turk on September 17, after they told the court that they had made the application to the UNHCR. A source told the Weekly News that the two alleged that their lives are in danger if they are extradited, hence the application for political asylum. Reports are that they had purchased a condominium at La Vista Azul in Turtle Cove, Providenciales, and had settled prior to being apprehended. (VANESSA NARINE)