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Volume: 121 No.39, January 18, 2024

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: PRICE–$1

THREE MURDERS IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS Chief Supt makes appeal - ‘tomorrow it could be one of your own’

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net A FATHER of one on bail for murder was one of three men killed in separate incidents less than 24 hours apart, pushing the murder tally for the year to 14.

The killings came after

the Davis administration released its crime plan and a National Day of Prayer event was held in response to the soaring murder rate.

Yesterday’s second killing happened around 12pm at the intersection of Village and Parkgate Roads.

SEE PAGE THREE

A DISTRAUGHT family member at the scene on Pineyard Road where a man was shot and killed yesterday.

Photo: Dante Carrer

GB TEEN REPORTEDLY STABBED Glover-Rolle assures workers will FOR REFUSING TO JOIN GANG not be disenfranchised by NIB rise A 13-YEAR-OLD Grand Bahama boy was stabbed after he reportedly refused to join a gang.

Three people are in police custody helping police with investigations into the incident, which happened on Tuesday evening.

According to reports, at around 5.30pm, the victim was approached in the

Lewis Yard area by three men he knew who encouraged him to join a gang.

When he refused, one of them reportedly stabbed him with a knife in his abdomen.

The victim was taken to the Rand Memorial Hospital for treatment. His condition was not known up to press time.

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune News Editor rrolle@tribunemedia.net LABOUR and Public Services Minister Pia Glover-Rolle said her ministry would ensure workers are not disenfranchised when National Insurance Board contributions increase later this year.

LABOUR Minister Pia Glover -Rolle

is concerned about casual workers at the Grand Bahama Shipyard, people who lack the benefits and security that permanent workers enjoy. She also noted that some business leaders have said they will rely on more part-time workers when NIB rates

She noted the government

SEE PAGE FOUR

‘Only twO sOught help’ after shanty tear dOwn

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net AS structures continued to be demolished in the All Saints Way shanty town yesterday, Social Services Minister Myles Laroda said only two women visited his ministry seeking help.

He said one of the women had two children, and the other had three.

He said the ministry had

SOCIAL Services Minister Myles Laroda.

Photo: Dante Carrer no record of the woman featured in a Tribune report

yesterday. The woman said she slept outside on the ground at night with her six children after her home was demolished. She lacks status to be in the country, and Cabinet ministers have repeatedly said only Bahamians affected by the demolition activities will be given housing assistance.

Nonetheless, Mr Laroda said people affected by the

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE FIVE

WITNESSES RECOUNT SHARK ATTACK

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net TWO Americans who witnessed a shark attack at Atlantis on Monday said their experience was peaceful but turned dark when the ten-year-old victim was attacked.

SEE PAGE TWO

OBITUARIES & RELIGION

48-PAGE SECTION PLUS PAGES 13-18 INSIDE

PAGE 2, Thursday, January 18, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

Witnesses recount shark attack as DPM says govt looking at regulations ATLANTIS Resort on Paradise Island. from page one “We saw the sharks hone in on him and then just like a pool of blood afterwards,” Tori Massie told NBC News, while her partner, Michael Massie, said: “They failed this child and this family.”

Police had said the tenyear-old Maryland boy was participating in an expedition in a “shark tank at a local resort on Paradise Island” when the incident happened.

Tourism Minister Chester Cooper yesterday called the attack “another unfortunate incident,” adding he had little information about what happened.

Last night, ABC World News Tonight reported that the boy was bitten on his right leg, required surgery and was listed in serious but stable condition; the boy was expected to be airlifted to Maryland last night.

Mr Cooper told reporters Atlantis would “issue a statement in due course,” but resort officials did not respond to The Tribune’s questions on Tuesday and Wednesday and continued to be mum yesterday.

NBC News reported that after the attack, the programme the child participated in, “Walking with the Sharks,” was removed from Atlantis’ website. The news outlet also said it did not hear

back from Blue Adventures by Stuart Cove, the company that runs the shark experience.

Last month, a shark killed a 44-year-old American woman in waters near the Sandals resort.

Mr Cooper said a Cabinet subcommittee led by Environment Minister Vaughn Miller is examining water activities.

“There is going to be public consultation, and we will consider lessons learnt from all these shark attacks during this period of consultation and potentially reflect some changes in the regulation,” he said, adding that the subcommittee was established late last year.

TOURISM Minister Chester Cooper yesterday called the attack “another unfortunate incident.”

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, January 18, 2024, PAGE 3

Three murders in less than 24 hours

CEION Davis was shot and killed in Dundas Town, Abaco on Tues- JASON Lamm was shot in his vehicle near Parkgate and Village A THIRD man was murdered near Pineyard Road in the Fox Hill area day night.

Road yesterday. just minutes before Jason Lamm was shot. Photo: Dante Carrer from page one Zoey Brown, the victim’s cousin, identified him as Jason Emmanuel Alou Lamm, 24. Ms Brown told The Tribune it felt as if her world came to an end when Lamm was killed because the two grew up together like siblings.

Police said Lamm was driving a small Japanese vehicle when the occupants of a white Japanese car pulled alongside him

and opened fire, shooting him multiple times.

Chief Superintendent Chrislyn Skippings told reporters Lamm’s murder case was scheduled to begin on Monday.

Ms Brown said Lamm never expressed fear for his life. She described him as loving, family-oriented, and funny.

She said he leaves behind a one-year-old child.

“The only thing I want is

justice for my cousin,” she said. “Because he did not deserve this.”

A gruesome video of Lamm’s final moments was circulated on social media, showing him in the street, calling out for his mother as blood dripped from him.

Yesterday’s first incident happened around 11.20 am.

The screams of grieving relatives rippled through the Pineyard Road area after gunshots rang out.

A concerned resident checked the southern boundary of their property and found an unresponsive man through a track road.

CSP Skippings said the man was in his early 20s and not known to police.

“You need to come forward and provide us with the intel so that we can remove the weapons from the streets,” she said in a message to parents aware of their children’s criminal activity. “Failure to do so,

the carnage will continue.

It can affect your home.

It may be somebody else’s loved one today, tomorrow, or even later today, it could be your own.”

On Tuesday night, a man was killed in Dundas Town, Abaco. Relatives identified him as Ceion Davis, 38.

Shortly after 7pm, police were alerted by a concerned citizen to gunshots in the vicinity of Latter Rain Way. Police responded and found Ceion

with multiple gunshot injuries on the road.

Meanwhile, Free National Movement deputy leader Shanendon Cartwright said the country is in a crime crisis.

“The Davis Administration’s response to the surge in crime has been underwhelming, with the national address and crime plan falling short of the expectations of an anxious public,” he said in a statement yesterday.

PUBLIC NOTICE The Public is hereby advised that

POLICE said Lamm was driving a small Japanese vehicle when the occupants of a white Japanese car pulled alongside him and opened fire, shooting him multiple times.

Photo: Moise Amisial

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Clemmeth Eneas Jr. is NOT AUTHORIZED to do any Real Estate Business on behalf of Clemmeth Eneas Sr.

PAGE 4, Thursday, January 18, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

Glover-Rolle assures workers will not be disenfranchised by NIB rise from page one increase.

“We are going to do all we can from a department of labour perspective, from a legal and legislative perspective to ensure that workers aren’t disenfranchised no matter what happens,” she said yesterday.

“That’s what’s a priority for us.”

Bahamas Public Services Union president Kimsley Ferguson said while the government increased the minimum wage, people must now tap into that increase to pay the new NIB rate.

“It doesn’t assist our members in combatting the cost of living, which is leaving salaries behind by leaps and bounds,” he said, adding: “We believe there should be consultation even before the hike so that some futuristic consideration could be given to bringing relief to persons at the lower end of the scale.”

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said last year that the NIB contribution rate increase will take effect on July 1st of this year.

Minister Myles Laroda, who was previously responsible for NIB, repeatedly said the contribution rate must increase by 1.5 per cent three or four times in the near future to stabilise the fund.

LABOUR MINISTER PIA G LOVER-ROLLE

Electoral justice and access to courts under review after OAS report highlights incident

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net ACCESS to the courts is under review after a judicial matter concerning the 2021 general election was unable to be heard ahead of the polls.

The matter was highlighted in a recent report by the Organisation of American States (OAS) and has since been brought to the attention of Chief Justice Sir Ian Winder, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell.

Mr Mitchell spoke on the matter yesterday when addressing the OAS Permanent Council meeting, which included a presentation of the OAS Electoral Observation Mission Report on the 2021 general election.

According to the report, a pastor attempted to seek an injunction to prohibit the holding of the election but was unable to receive a

hearing ahead of the polls, impeding his access to the court.

“With respect to access to electoral justice, reference in the report to the case of Glenroy Bethel & Dexter Edwards against Parliamentary Registration Department and Ministry of National Security where an election injunction was sought due to the late release of the voter registry and concerns around the impact on voter registration because of the snap election,” Mr Mitchell said.

“Now, it is important to note that in this specific instance, there does not seem to have been a formal request by the litigant for a hearing date with the courts.

What we found was when we examined the file that an action was actually filed, there was a supporting affidavit, but the litigant has a responsibility to move the process forward and that’s done by writing the registrar

and indicating this is an emergency we need to have a date set down.

“We didn’t find any evidence in the file for the litigant himself to actually move the process beyond simply filing the document.

We’re still looking at the file but that’s the evidence we’ve uncovered so far.

Notwithstanding that, in this particular case, when we were in opposition, we faced a similar experience with respect to access to the courts, and so we identify with the criticism because there was a state of emergency or the equivalent during the pandemic. We sought to challenge the legality of it, but could not get a hearing in a timely fashion.

“We brought that particular observation before the new chief justice, and he’s agreed to have a look to see about this issue of access to the courts because we think this is an important

observation.”

Pastor Bethel filed his claim on September 6, 2021, before the Supreme Court in Grand Bahama, seeking an injunction.

The OAS report said: “He alleged the election could not be free and fair given the late release of the voters’ registry for the advanced poll and concerns related to the impact of the snap election on the ability of citizens to register. He informed the Mission that despite efforts, he did not receive a date for the hearing of the injunction application at the time of the election.”

Yesterday, Sir Ian confirmed the matter is under review.

“While we have located a filed action in the name of these parties, filed just before the general elections, we do not see, on the file, any formal request by letter or otherwise, for the matter to be heard by a judge in Grand Bahama,” he said.

FOREIG N AFFAIRS MINISTER FRED MITCHELL

‘Only two sought help’ after Shanty tear down THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, January 18, 2024, PAGE 5

WORKS Minister Clay Sweeting from page one shanty town demolitions “are encouraged to visit the Department of Social Services at the Pitt Road” Outreach Centre.

Demolitions continued yesterday after a fire broke out at the shanty town.

Works Minister Clay Sweeting said the cause of yesterday’s fire was unknown, though several people were evacuated.

He said the first fire was accidental and was brought under control quickly. He said people were trying to salvage copper from wires and were burning the rubber around the wires when the fire started.

He reiterated that the Unregulated Communities Action Task Force would visit Abaco next week to assess the shanty towns there and meet residents.

WORKS Minister Clay Sweeting said the cause of yesterday’s fire at All Saints Way shanty town was unknown, though several people were evacuated.

Photos: Moise Amisial

Eugene Depuch Law School announces groundbreaking collaboration with UB North IN alignment with its commitment to delivering top-tier legal education across the region, the Council of Legal Education at Eugene Dupuch Law School (EDLS) is proud to announce a groundbreaking collaboration with the University of The Bahamas’ Northern Campus (UB North) on its UBIGNITE project.

This initiative is the result of a strategic alliance between the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) Lab and the University of The Bahamas’ Northern Campus, with a focused mission of “Sparking Innovation and Entrepreneurship” on Grand Bahama Island.

“The UB-IGNITE project seamlessly aligns with our mission to empower participants with the skills needed for entrepreneurial excellence”, noted EDLS Principal Tonya Bastian-Galanis.

“This partnership not only

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enriches our academic offerings but also reinforces our dedication to innovation in legal education.”

With an already wellestablished reputation for community involvement, EDLS, through this transformative partnership, is set to enhance the IGNITE experience, providing comprehensive legal knowledge tailored to running businesses.

Participants in the upcoming cohort will benefit from the invaluable support of the EDLS Legal Aid Clinic (LAC) and its extensive alumni network.

“EDLS will be at the forefront, organizing and delivering seminars, collaborating with UB North to host training sessions and webinars. Covering a spectrum of legal topics specifically tailored to

entrepreneurs, these initiatives are designed to equip participants with the knowledge necessary to navigate legal intricacies confidently,” explained Nicole Sutherland-King, LAC Director at EDLS. In addition to providing educational resources, EDLS will extend mentorship opportunities to UB-IGNITE Project participants, offering guidance, insights, and advice to address legal challenges, understand implications, and make informed decisions.

This collaboration represents just one feature of EDLS’s broader initiatives for 2024 as the institution continues its mission to educate, elevate, and celebrate the legal profession in The Bahamas and across the region.

PAGE 6, Thursday, January 18, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

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Are we doing enough to reduce crime?

IN what is surely the deadliest start to any year, another two murders yesterday brought the total – at the time of writing – to 14 murders for the year. All in just 17 days.

There is some mixed messaging from the government on the issue. Right after Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis holds a national address and calls for a national day of prayer – a request duly honoured – the Minister of National Security pipes up to say that crime was down at the end of the year by a fifth anyway.

The numbers, whatever they are, are the numbers. We cannot ignore the crime statistics for last year just as we cannot ignore the number of murders so far this year.

But it does beg the question of how focused this latest push against crime is and whether all parties are really on board with it.

Certainly, the criminals are not – little surprise, there. The Prime Minister’s speech has certainly been ignored by those who committed three murders in 24 hours starting with an incident in Abaco on Tuesday night.

Mr Davis himself started off his speech saying he had hoped to be talking about other things until the wave of murders took place.

So it is perhaps little surprise that the package of anti-crime measures revealed this week looks in large part like a bunch of things pulled together that were already happening.

Talk of care needing to be taken in drafting anti-gang legislation suggests that is not close to being brought to consultation, let alone Parliament.

Mention of more resources for Urban Renewal and school policing units would certainly be welcome, but is the kind of statement that we’ve heard before, and without a dollar amount attached, it is hard to gauge what impact any such proposal might have. Indeed, with the deficit soaring in the figures for the year so far to the extent that it is nearing the full-year target, how much room is there for investment in such endeavours anyway?

Until we hear how much is being put towards those initiatives – and also towards overtime for officers on the extra saturation patrols and roadblocks – we cannot say how much “extra” this really is.

In the middle of this, the FNM deciding to pick a fight over the words of the Police Commissioner relating to an incident outside their headquarters seems to be missing the larger picture.

The FNM might be best served offering its own concrete solutions for how to deal with crime rather than descending into partisan arguments.

We should all be trying to play a part in reducing crime. We should all be hoping for the authorities to be successful in addressing this deadly situation.

Hearing the words of the police officers on the scene of these repeated incidents is heartbreaking. You can hear in the voices of the officers the frustration and pain at having to deal with these situations over and over. You can hear the earnestness in the call for people to come forward with information over guns and possible shootings and drugs the desire to avoid these murders from happening in the first place.

The question is, is what we are doing enough? And can we do more? That is what we need to strive towards. **************************** A curious situation has emerged over a recent incident.

A child was bitten by a shark during a shark tank experience on Paradise Island.

However, it has not been revealed where the resort was where it took place.

Atlantis has such experiences, but has remained silent on the issue. Authorities have been coy in naming the resort where the boy was bitten.

If there is another resort on Paradise Island offering such experiences, we do not know which has such facilities.

If it is Atlantis, we cannot change the fact of where it took place.

If it is not Atlantis, then speculation internationally has named Atlantis as hosting such experiences and they should not be caught up in such if it is not them.

That said, this is not the first time The Tribune has made queries about incidents at Atlantis – such as one at a nightclub that left a man with an almost severed leg – and found difficulty in getting straight answers as to what happened and when.

Credit then to Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper, who said that an Atlantis guest was involved and that the resort would be making a statement - although a resort spokesman cast doubt on the prospect of such a comment.

This is not a matter of blame – that would be for any legal proceedings afterwards – but simply recording what took place. That should be a simple matter of the public record, nothing less.

Without stronger gun sentences, we are wasting our time EDITOR, The Tribune.

While the Prime Minister is to be commended for announcing (and hopefully soon enacting) stronger laws and policies to counter the entrenched gang culture that is menacing our society, I fear that government’s efforts will come to little if they do not address the one matter that is at the heart of it all: the extremely light sentences that are handed down by Bahamian courts for the possession of illegal firearms.

It matters not how aggressively the police pursue offenders and enforce the laws when those offenders subsequently go before the courts and are given a year or two sentence, only to end up re-offending (often for murder, the logical sequential step after gun possession).

For reasons known only to them, our courts clearly regard illegal firearm possession as a petty offence, and have in that way helped to normalise it among a troublingly large cross-section of our population.

During the pandemic, a man convicted of stealing food (who claimed to be starving) was sentenced to a lengthier term

than almost all sentences handed down in The Bahamas for firearm possession – even for repeat offenders.

And it seems that no circumstance is considered by our courts sufficiently aggravating to put gun offenders away for the kinds of lengthy terms that would be considered normal in comparable jurisdictions.

Last year, a person on bail for murder who admitted to subsequent firearm possession was sentenced to only two years imprisonment.

If being on bail for murder is not considered a sufficient circumstance to demand increased circumspection (and hence to aggravate the crime of illegal gun possession) one must seriously question what is.

Damningly for our courts, if you look into the criminal histories of the majority of repeat murderers (including those who seem to continually “beat” the system), you will note that many, if not most of them, have previous (often multiple) convictions for gun possession which they have served only to emerge and reoffend (often in an escalation to murder) within the timeframe that

they would still have been locked up in most of our sister jurisdictions.

Appropriately lengthy sentences for firearm possession are particularly effective at bringing down murder rates for two simple reasons.

Firstly, because, since trials for that offence involve neither juries nor civilian witnesses, they tend to carry a very high conviction rate, unlike murder.

And secondly, because the people carrying guns around tend to be the same ones murdering people, lengthy sentences mean that many would simply never “graduate” to murder if they served out their remaining youthful years in prison.

That is why Jamaica and Barbados recently followed the United Kingdom and the Cayman Islands in introducing 10 to 15 year statutory minimum sentences for firearm possession (in Barbados, the second offence carries life imprisonment!).

If we are serious about tackling our atrocious murder rate, it is time we followed suit.

ANDREW ALLEN Nassau, January 15, 2024.

A PAIR of bald eagles call out while resting on a tree next to Union Bay, Tuesday in Seattle.

(AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

The silence of the lambs EDITOR, The Tribune.

ALMOST all Bahamians appear to be in a state of daze and are walking around like chickens, with all due respect to them, with no heads over the ever presence of crime and the fear of crime. No one seems to have a viable solution and even fewer have questioned the root causes of the same. It is almost akin to a person having an illness, see the symptoms, but cannot quite seem to figure out the antidote.

In human experience, dialogue is essential in most cases. The police are shrilly crying out for amendments to the Bail Act. They seem to be saying that the bulk of crimes are being committed by people who would have been admitted to bail, even though they are ‘known’ to the police.

Lock them up and throw away the keys.

That, of course, without concrete steps to attempt to rehabilitate those who are imprisoned is foolishness.

When dealing with crime all facets of the same must be carefully and sensibly discussed.

You gagged people like wild beasts when they re-enter society, many of them will be even more wild than when they went in. In my experience at the Criminal Bar...

The other day some nebulous individuals met with so-called known gang leaders to discuss these issues. This was stupid and sends the wrong message to the criminal elements.

It is like asking the fox to give suggestions on how to keep the hapless chickens safe, after the fox would have already eaten a good portion of them. You want to stop rapes and robberies, ask the suspected assailants about their techniques and strategies.

It is now clear that despite all of the fancy talk and massive manpower and resources, that the police and the powers that be are ‘talking’ to the wrong people.

A National Day of Prayer is a good thing as

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net

prayers avail a righteous man/woman much. Apart from providing a high platform for the reverends and the politicians to wax and pray eloquently, what do you think would be accomplished, in my considered view, very little and maybe even nothing.

Those in authority have been talking to or with the wrong people for far too long.

May I suggest that a series of Town Hall styled meetings be held with stakeholders and the unwashed masses. The latter are the probable victims of crime, especially in the inner city areas of New Providence and pockets of criminality in the Family Islands.

Who better to dialogue and talk with than the mostly innocent victims of crime? They are like lambs being led to the slaughter. They have been relegated to being told to keep silent; shut up and take it like a man/woman.

While the ‘lambs’ are being told this, few of the law enforcement people, et al, bothers to talk with them. It must be kept in mind that these same ‘lambs’ are connected, in some way, to the criminal elements, either as friend, lovers and relatives.

They know who the criminals are and for sure many of them live within our households. Yet, apart from ‘intelligence’ gathering, such as it might be, the police and powers that be skirt around the real issues and causation relative to crime. When last have you heard about any sort of public meetings between the police and ordinary Bahamians?

Unless and until ordinary Bahamians are offered a public platform to dialogue with the powers that be, where information and strategies could be shared or fleshed out, we could pray until The Kingdom comes while witnessing at least one hundred alleged homicides per year and

more. The sad thing is that a large number of our so-called churches are led by ex-police officers. You’d think that with their experience in law enforcement and supposed connectivity to God, that the collective church would easily deal with this ongoing criminal problem.

Not so. The church is crying.

The police are crying and nobody seems to know what the hell is going on. The late singer Marvin Gaye asked the rhetorical question many years ago: ‘Mama, mama what’s going on? Brother, brother what’s happening?’ No one, at least here in The Bahamas, has been able to answer that question. The Lambs have been silenced and the mayhem goes on.

I encourage the Prime Minister to mandate the Hon Minister of National Security to convene appropriate Town Hallstyled meetings with right thinking citizens at the earliest opportunity.

The Commissioner of Police is crying for the legislature to amend the Bail Act even though persons on bail are allegedly committing even more diabolical criminal acts while on bail or are being slaughtered while on bail. The Constitution ‘guarantees’ bail to all and sundry, even in cases of suspected homicides.

We’d have to have a constitutional referendum.

As a legally trained person, I seriously doubt that any administration would have the political coconuts to hold a referendum anytime soon.

They seem to ‘fear’ such a thought more than they ‘fear’ the known criminals.

The Lambs have been silenced and the Fox is large and, obviously, in charge. You want to change this. Talk to the victims and those who are aiding and abetting the criminals.

To God then, in all things, be the glory ORTLAND H BODIE, Jr Nassau, January 13, 2024.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, January 18, 2024, PAGE 7

BDOCS 2022 annual report tabled in House

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas Department of Correctional Services’ Internal Affairs Unit investigated 56 reports of alleged misconduct involving prison officers in 2022, with disciplinary action happening in nearly 80 per cent of the matters reported.

The statistics were revealed in the prison’s 2022 annual report tabled in the House of Assembly yesterday.

The allegations included trafficking, inmate brutality, missing funds and missing ammunition.

Allegations of

disobedience, which totalled 22, accounted for most of the complaints, followed by reports of absence from the place of duty, which stood at 12.

The report noted there were four complaints of inmate brutality, two of which led to disciplinary charges and three allegations of trafficking, with two of those matters leading to disciplinary action.

According to the report, the internal affairs unit brought 57 charges against 38 officers to the disciplinary Tribunal.

Forty-one went to the disciplinary Tribunal for 139 offences. Sixty-eight were found guilty, 24 admitted to the offence

and 47 officers had their case dismissed.

Penalties varied from fines between $50 to $1,000, cautions and severe reprimands.

In terms of arrest, two correction officers were taken into police custody. One of them was accused of rape, with the case still pending. The other was suspended after being charged with attempted shop breaking and burglary.

The report also highlighted complaints against residents that the prison’s Internal Affairs Unit investigated.

The report said 573 charges were brought against 369 residents, which were turned over to the Tribunal. The

MAN ACCUSED OF AMBUSHING AND MURDERING ANOTHER MAN IN MONTELL HEIGHTS LAST WEEK

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A 44-YEAR-OLD man is behind bars after he allegedly ambushed and gunned down a 28-year-old man in his car in the Montell Heights area last week.

Magistrate Algernon Allen, Jr, charged Alvin Morley, Sr, with murder, possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of ammunition.

Alphonso Lewis and Levan Johnson represented

the defendant.

Morley, while reportedly wearing a ski mask and armed with a handgun, approached Destin Curtis and his female companion when their car broke down on Bell Close on January 10.

The accused allegedly opened the driver’s door and shot Curtis multiple times before fleeing on foot.

While the female passenger escaped unharmed to nearby relatives, Curtis died of his injuries in hospital.

Morley was arrested on January 13 after he attempted

to flee from police near a residence on Bell Road. There, authorities reportedly found a G2C 9mm pistol with eight rounds of ammunition that the accused allegedly tried to discard during the chase.

The accused was told that his matter would be transferred to the Supreme Court through a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI). He will be sent to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until the higher court grants him bail.

Morley’s VBI is set for service on May 29.

ABACO MAN ACCUSED OF RAPING A WOMAN IN MARSH HARBOUR LAST YEAR REMANDED

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A 29-YEAR-OLD man was imprisoned yesterday after he allegedly raped a 27-year-old woman in Abaco last March.

Magistrate Algernon Allen, Jr, charged Earin Cash with rape and assault.

Cash allegedly assaulted and raped a young woman

in Marsh Harbour, Abaco, on March 22, 2023.

Cash was told that his matter would be moved to the Supreme Court by a voluntary bill of indictment (VBI). He will be sent to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

His VBI is due for service on March 5.

Ian Cargill represented the accused.

MAN ACCUSED OF STEALING CAR TO BE EVALUATED AT SANDILANDS

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A MAN was remanded to Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre for psychological evaluation yesterday after he allegedly stole a car last Sunday in New Providence.

Magistrate Algernon Allen, Jr, charged Duran Dorcelie, 31, with stealing.

Dorcelie is accused of stealing a white 2013 Honda Accord valued at $4,000 belonging to Denrick Kemp on January 14.

The accused did not enter a plea to this charge, as it was noted that he has a history of mental illness.

Dorcelie will be remanded to the Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre until July 18, when he returns to court for a psychological report.

MAN FINED OVER FAILING TO PAY OUTSTANDING RIFLE LICENCE FEES

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A MAN was fined $2,000 yesterday after admitting to failing to pay outstanding rifle licence fees.

Magistrate Algernon Allen, Jr, charged Javon Williams, 38, with possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of ammunition.

Williams was arrested on January 14 in New Providence after police found him with a black Ruger .22 rifle and 120 rounds of .22mm ammunition.

The defendant pleaded guilty to the charges and was fined $2000.

He is expected to pay half of his debt on Friday, with the remainder to be settled in February.

offences included fighting, using a prohibited article, assault and disrupting order, among others.

According to the

report, there was a three per cent increase in officer charges and a 65 per cent decrease in inmate charges.

Regarding contraband,

the Internal Affairs Unit said over 300 items were reported in 2022, including cell phones, SIM cards, chargers, shanks, cigars and makeshift batteries.

Comprehensive intervention needed to deal with murders PAGE 8, Thursday, January 18, 2024

AT the beginning of 2024, after a terrible spate of murder and bloodshed, we are once again playing out our near perfected and predictable response to violent crime.

This time, it is the doubledigit frenzy of retaliatory and other killings, which commenced in the closing weeks of December, 2023.

By comparison, Belize, with a population similar in size to The Bahamas, has only had one or two murders for the year.

With the residents of New Providence frightened by the brazenness and frequency of the killings, our ritualised response is playing out on cue.

There was the usual call for a National Day of Prayer by the Bahamas Christian Council (BCC), which has offered little concrete advice for the government, other than the exasperatingly knee-jerk and banal baying for more killing, namely the death penalty.

Increased crime and violence often provoke anger and fear in the community. This leads to calls for retribution and capital punishment. Such a punishment is morally uncreative.

Moreover, it is an anemic and non-deterrent response to the retaliatory violence and dysfunction of our deepseated culture of criminality.

As others have noted, prayer is essential. But neither prayer nor hope are strategies to prevent and address crime. And, how does one pray for peace, wisdom and a more loving society in one breath, while demanding capital punishment in the other?

In a recent press conference, the frustration of Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander was palpable. The Commissioner noted that he invited some members of the BCC to meet with him and some of those detained by the Force in connection with some of the murders.

There was little garnered from the detainees as to the reasons for their criminality and little gained from the clerics as to a response. Mr Fernander knows well that there is only so much that

enhanced policing, which is vital, will accomplish.

The judiciary quickly and rightly defended the constitutional rights of those alleged to have committed murder. Yet, over the decades, the dysfunction in every area of the criminal justice system remains, with the state incapable still of trying certain offenders in a timelier manner. It is a deadly failure.

Meanwhile, panicked by the public blowback, the political directorate mounted its typical response, as it has repeatedly over the years. We have been here before. In March, 2022, after a series of killings, Prime Minister Philip Davis gathered stakeholders to address that crime wave. This was just under two years ago.

The Nassau Guardian reported back then: “Prime Minister Philip Davis yesterday convened an ‘urgent conclave’ with high-level stakeholders to address the ‘sharp increase in murders’.”

Mr Davis noted: “While much of it is clearly gangrelated, it is also clear that a range of other factors are contributing to this spike.”

“There are no easy, quick fixes to the crime dilemma, neither is there any one solution. However, we were able to identify immediate measures that will help to reduce levels of crime.

“I will have more to say on this issue in the coming days but I want to express a heartfelt thank you to the various agencies who participated.

THE TRIBUNE

“These include the Royal Bahamas Police Force, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the Department of Public Prosecutions, the Bahamas Crisis Centre, The Hope Centre, the opposition, the Bahamas Christian Council, members of my government and Cabinet.

“All sectors of society have a role to play in this partnership and, going forward, we invite the public to be a part.”

Two years later we are at the same, if not a worse place.

Crime is undoubtedly complex, requiring a multidimensional response.

Yet, because our political leaders have to respond quickly in the moment, they tend to rely mostly on more policing and other urgent response. While a number of these measures are required, they have repeatedly proved insufficient.

As with other policy issues requiring longerterm measures, most of our political leaders have failed to understand, analyze and implement the more comprehensive social intervention measures needed to address certain aspects of crime and violence.

As repeated, ad nauseam, by this columnist and many others, our leaders have generally failed to appreciate the sociology of violence and crime in The Bahamas, which tops some international charts for violence and obesity.

Is there a correlation between the two in terms of patterns of behaviour and cultural norms? A comparison may be helpful. We will utterly fail to address obesity in The Bahamas and the related high incidence of non-communicable diseases by simply adding a sugar tax, or conducting advertising campaigns, and other such measures.

To successfully respond to obesity requires a complex of sustained cultural, social public health, and economic

...how does one pray for peace, wisdom and a more loving society in one breath, while demanding capital punishment in the other?

measures that help to change cultural and behavioral habits around eating, exercising, drinking and other lifestyle patterns.

The same applies to crime. More hospital beds will not reverse obesity. Similarly, more prison cells will not reverse crime, especially given the state and mindset about corrections, which, though improving, dramatically lags behind more progressive jurisdictions.

Thirteen years ago, on October 3, 2011, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham addressed the nation amidst the crime crisis of the time. He urged: “Even as we relentlessly combat the criminals, provide law enforcement and the judiciary with the tools and resources they require and modernise our laws, there is something else as urgent, as essential – it is urgent and essential that we renew, restore and replenish our senseofcommunitychoosinga

culture of life over a culture given over to deadly violence.”

Mr Ingraham proposed a number of measures, including various social interventions: “The Ministers of Education, Labour and Social Development and Youth, Sports and Culture will collaborate on the development of a programme like the highly successful Outward Bound Programme which may help steer at-risk youth and firstoffenders away from a life of crime.

“Simultaneously, these Ministries and Departments will collaborate toward improving the programmes available for youths at the Simpson Penn and Willamae Pratt facilities with a view to improving the results being achieved in preparing these young people for reintegration into the community with skills to pursue productive lives.”

Ingraham and the FNM lost office the following year.

He was unable to put in place a number of the measures he proposed. Imagine the difference such measures may have made in the lives of a number of young people. Lost years and decades of inaction result in lost lives.

In his address this past Sunday, Mr Davis noted: “Crime is not just a legal issue. And the causes of crime are deeply rooted in a range of social, economic, and psychological factors. The strategy draws on contemporary research, successful models from around the world, and consultations with experts across various fields.”

He further advised: “…

We will prioritise rehabilitation. This final pillar aims to prepare offenders for successful reintegration into society. There is no point releasing people back into the community if we have not tackled the behaviours that caused them to offend in the first place.

“It includes vocational training, educational programmes, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and support networks to reduce the chances of people falling back into offending…”

The Prime Minister stated: “Back in August last year, we agreed a strategy which would tackle the entire criminal lifecycle. We recognised that we need both a ‘Whole of Government and a Whole of Society approach’ if we are both to reduce crime, as well as root out the causes of crime.”

In a press statement released this past Tuesday, the Davis administration noted the prevention pillar

of its crime strategy: “Initiatives include expanding youth programnes, investing in community centres, and enhancing educational opportunities, particularly targeting at-risk populations.”

All of this is necessary.

But what are the specifics?

In a 2004 report on crime, Marlon Johnson, the then Director of SAFE Bahamas concluded: “Across the world, there have been many thousands of initiatives developed to address citizen safety issues similar to those in the Bahamas.

A considerable number of studies have been carried out to determine which types of programmes work to prevent or mitigate crime, and which simply do not have any measurable impact on crime either immediately or over time.”

The report indicated three levels of strategies and programmes that have enjoyed success across cultures and jurisdictions. One of these is social intervention.

“Sustained and targeted intervention strategies – for programmes targeted at modifying destructive behaviour patterns in individuals, there is a need for specificity in what behaviour patterns are being addressed, as well as for constancy in the intervention programmes.”

Here are the key elements: “specificity in what behaviour patterns are being addressed”, and “constancy in the intervention programmes”.

If we do not become more serious about comprehensive intervention measures, we will continue to replay this same response cycle after a significant increase in murders: calls for a day of prayer; demands for hanging; more handwringing; another national address on crime; more wrangling over bail and dysfunction in criminal justice system; and more policing measures.

Social intervention is only one part of a more comprehensive approach to crime and violence. But it is a strategy for which we have significantly failed to plan and to commit more human and financial resources.

Severe crime and increased violence are not inevitable. They are the result of cultural, societal and governmental failures.

Addressing these failures with greater seriousness and determination is the necessary course if we want a more peaceful society.

More Next Week.

Pennsylvania key to Biden’s election bid PAGE 10, Thursday, January 18, 2024

GRAY, ominous clouds hung low over the city’s hills and valleys, more than a hint of cold rain lingering in the still air. Trees stood bare and leafless against the bleak sky. Scranton was ready for the winter to come.

This northeast Pennsylvania city of 75,000 has lost half its population since US President Joe Biden was born there 80 years ago. The fact that Biden is a proud native son is just about the only thing that might tilt next year’s local election results to him. In virtually all other respects, the city could be expected to support Donald Trump.

Evidence abounds of the city’s overwhelmingly white population, Catholic faith and hardscrabble roots.

Stone churches occupy many key locations in downtown as well as throughout the neighbourhoods of wood-sided narrow houses with hopeful stoops that predominate in this once-bustling industrial hub.

Until the middle of the 20th Century, Scranton was a regional powerhouse. It was the beating industrial heart of the Lackawanna River Valley, sustained largely by rich nearby deposits of the dependable coal that fueled America’s developing industrial revolution. Railroads competed to carry coal to the furnaces of the industrial east.

A local preacher coined the city’s nickname “Electric City” when electric lights were introduced in the late 19th Century at a local manufacturing company. The first American streetcars powered only by electricity began operating in the city at about the same time.

After World War II, however, Scranton and coal gave way to cheaper and more convenient oil and natural gas as heating fuel and as a ready energy source.

THE TRIBUNE

Gun deaths are a peculiar American issue

STATESIDE

with Charlie Harper

US PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN Jobs dried up. Workers and their families moved out, often to the south and west where the oil and gas industry beckoned. For those who remained, grievance seemed natural and appropriate against an economic system where trade unions no longer guaranteed well-paying jobs and the wealth gap between the rich and the middle classes widened. Scranton joined the ranks of decaying postindustrial cities, dotted with tumbled-down buildings, vacant lots and growing despair.

But there has been a significant saving grace that has kept part of Scranton’s decaying industrial base afloat. That is its major role in US Army weapons manufacturing. In fact, recent city data reveal that the largest employer in the city is the US Army. City factories make various armaments for the army, but most notably these days, its Scranton Army Ammunition Plant (SCAAP) makes lots and lots of heavy artillery shells.

The installation where this is done was originally constructed as a steam locomotive construction and repair facility in 1908.

SCAAP was established in 1953 and has been operated by government contractors since then.

Huge defense contractor General Dynamics-Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD-OTS) assumed operation of the facility in 2006, and is the current operating contractor.

SCAAP is housed on 15.3 acres, with seven buildings, totaling 495,000 square feet of production square footage.

Scranton has thus joined the short list of rust-belt cities that now thrive by making conventional military weaponry. Another example is the western Ohio city of Lima, which makes advanced battle tanks. As the US has continued to supply Ukraine with weapons systems and ammunition, these two cities have occasionally appeared in the news. They

make much of what America is supplying to Ukraine’s armed forces.

Despite this governmentspurred stimulus, Scranton has been sagging for decades. This created fertile ground for Ronald Reagan in 1980, and north-central and northeastern Pennsylvania has moved toward the GOP generally since then.

In retrospect, the Keystone State’s support for Trump in 2016 should not have been a complete surprise.

But Scranton turned out for native son Biden three years ago, and Lackawanna County’s 20,000 vote majority for the Democrat provided almost one-third of his overall winning margin as Pennsylvania proved to be a blue swing state.

Biden will need Pennsylvania again this year. He will be helped by the fact that a key arterial highway has now been renamed the “President Joseph R Biden expressway.”

A street named for Biden can also be found elsewhere in the city. Even in the city’s more depressed precincts, there are none of the scatological anti-Biden (and anti-vice president Harris) signs so prevalent in other depressed and rural parts of the state.

Biden often brags about his poor, Catholic family roots in Scranton. He will need the city’s faithful to remember that and again give him their votes next year in what may be another tantalizingly close election. There seems little possibility that Biden could win re-election without carrying Pennsylvania.

COLT AR-15 SEMI-AUTOMATIC RIFLE GUN violence in the US continues to baffle most Americans. Massacres by unstable citizens using easy-to-purchase military-grade assault weapons defy rationalisation. How in the world does a nation that regards itself as well-educated, idealistic and compassionate continue to tolerate such awesomely lawless, nihilistic behaviour?

Most people would probably answer that it’s the work of the National Rifle Association, its gunmanufacturing members and what have become its ideological fellow travellers among MAGAns and other conservative-leaning Republican Party members.

That’s facile. It is also partly true. That is the thesis of several recent books and a lot of extensive commentary in the mainstream press. The US has suffered from one tragic mass shooting after another in recent years.

Any list of these standout horrors always includes the murder of 20 primary school kids and 6 educators at Sandy Hook, Connecticut in December 2012. The other tragedy most often referenced in discussions of gun violence is the murder of 60 concert-goers and wounding of another 413 in Las Vegas in October 2017.

The well-respected Pew Research Centre reports that in 2021, the most recent year for which complete data is available, 48,830 people died from gun-related injuries in the US, according to the CDC, which is the government agency that tracks this grisly statistic. That figure includes gun murders and gun suicides.

In 2021, 54% of all gun-related deaths in the US were suicides (26,328), while 43 percent were murders (20,958). The remaining gun deaths that year were accidental (549), involved law enforcement (537) or had undetermined circumstances (458).

About eight-in-ten US murders in 2021 – 20,958 out of 26,031, or 81 percent – involved a firearm.

That marked the highest percentage since at least 1968, the earliest year for which the CDC has online records. More than half of all suicides in 2021 – 26,328 out of 48,183, or 55 percent – also involved a gun, the highest percentage since 2001.

The US gun death rate was 10.6 per 100,000 people in 2016, the most recent year in the Pew study, which used a somewhat different methodology from the CDC. That was far higher than in countries such as Canada (2.1 per 100,000) and Australia (1.0), as well as European nations such as France (2.7), Germany (0.9) and Spain (0.6).

So gun deaths are a peculiar American problem.

Part of the explanation, as noted above, is doubtless to be found in the current alliance-of-convenience forged by the gun lobby; alienated sectors of the population, particularly in deep red Western and Southern states and in the Republican Party, whose opportunistic interest coincides with the others’.

Such is the thesis of Gunfight, a 2021 polemic aimed at the politico-social alliance noted above.

Several other recent books and magazine articles make the same point. Most also discuss the reality that most gun owners are responsible hunters and recreational shooters.

John Wayne’s Western heroes, Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry and recent caricatures played by Liam Neeson are all film fantasies. They mostly employ handguns on the screen.

The assassins who commit murders like Sandy Hook and Las Vegas, on the other hand, most often employ the now-infamous AR-15 and its various imitations. Where did this gun come from?

It was first developed by a Marine veteran in Los Angeles around 70 years ago, and the US military quickly adopted it as the M-16 automatic rifle, not least as a counterpoint to the infamous but ruthlessly efficient Soviet-made AK-47. John Wayne was reportedly the first person outside the gunmaker’s company to admire its firepower.

The M-16/AR-15 fires a smaller .223-caliber bullet that carries a higher velocity and “tears through the body, spiraling as it obliterates organs, blood vessels and bones,” according to industry experts.

It’s still not very difficult to purchase an AR-15 in the US. The news will likely remain full of tales of American gun-related tragedy.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, January 18, 2024, PAGE 11

NICOLETTE FOUNTAIN ARCHER NAMED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE BAHAMAS FEEDING NETWORK LESS than two years after she joined as the much-needed administrative support for one of the nation’s most inspiring volunteer-based nonprofits, Nicolette Fountain Archer has been named the new executive director of the Bahamas Feeding Network. She replaces Father James Palacious.

Her appointment was announced today by Chairman Felix Stubbs.

“We want to thank Fr. James Palacious, who was very much enjoying his retirement from a life of serving God through many congregations and gave us more than a year in the secular world of serving the hungry,” said Mr Stubbs.

“All the while, we have been watching how Nicolette moved into a newly created administrative position and made it her mission to take the back office to a new standard. We can think of no one more qualified to step into the shoes that have now been worn by three very dynamic men, all of whom continue to support the Bahamas Feeding Network.”

Ms Fountain Archer, a former principal at St Anne’s, spent decades in education with a special interest in sports and wellness.

She takes over the helm of Feeding

Network at a time when it is struggling to keep up with demand.

“In the most recent 18-month period, we packed and distributed food parcels providing more than one million meals, but every week it gets harder to fill those parcels and get food to the people who need it –– families that just cannot get ends to meet, single mothers, seniors whose National Insurance pensions run out,” said Ms Fountain Archer.

“But I am a great believer that you are never given more than you can handle and I am honoured to be in a position where every day I come to work and I, along with our great volunteers, can make a difference in the lives of people in The Bahamas.”

Founded in 2013 under the patronage of H.E. Frank Crothers and headed by Smith until 2022, BFN grew from preparing, packaging and handing hot meals to the Fox Hill community and a handful of churches to packaging food parcels and distributing to more than 100 churches and feeding centres throughout Nassau, Grand Bahama, Eleuthera and Abaco.

Today, BFN’s top priority is fund-raising.

“There are major feeding centres

that depend on the Bahamas Feeding Network to help them take care of the needs of people in their communities whether that community is on Wulff Road or Mackey Street or Tarpum Bay, Eleuthera,” said Mr Stubbs.

“We cannot let them down and the board of BFN knows that Nicki will give it her all.”

According to Ms Fountain Archer, the work starts with enlisting smaller companies to make ongoing donations.

“We have benefitted from incredibly generous donations by corporate giants like Royal Caribbean and Bahamian companies like Sysco and AML Foods, but now with donations post-COVID down nearly 40 per cent, we want to take it to the neighbourhood and make sure that everyone who can help knows how to do so and how much they are needed,” she said.

The new executive director has already started down that path with Paradise Island-based Quality Care Pharmacy planning a health fair, fun run and walk on February 3. All proceeds go to BFN.

NICOLETTE Fountain Archer

MINISTER OF STATE MEETS NEMA AND DRA STAFF MINISTER of State in the Office of the Prime Minister Leon Lundy met with staff and executives of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Disaster Reconstruction Authority (DRA) on Monday.

(BIS Photos/Ulric Woodside)

PAGE 12, Thursday, January 18, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

Suspect in Long Island’s Gilgo Beach serial killings is charged with the death of a fourth woman

ALLEGED Gilgo serial Killer Rex Heuermann appears inside Judge Timothy P. Mazzei’s courtroom with his attorney Michael Brown at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead, N.Y. on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. Heuermann is indicted in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes.

Photo: James Carbone/Newsday/AP RIVERHEAD Associated Press A NEW York architect charged in a string of slayings known as the Gilgo Beach killings was accused Tuesday in the death of a fourth woman, a Connecticut mother of two who vanished in 2007 and whose remains were found more than three years later along a coastal highway on Long Island.

Rex Heuermann was formally charged in the killing of Maureen Brainard-Barnes, months after having been labeled the prime suspect in her death when he was arrested in July in the deaths of three other women.

Wearing a dark suit, he remained silent in court as his lawyer entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.

He will continue to be held without bail until his next court date on Feb. 6.

Police say the breakthrough came from DNA extracted from hair at the scene. A hair found with Brainard-Barnes’ remains is genetically similar to a DNA sample taken from Heuermann’s exwife. During the period when Brainard-Barnes disappeared in 2007, Heuermann’s ex-wife and his daughter were staying out of town at a hotel in Atlantic City, the indictment and her attorney confirmed.

Prosecutors also said in Tuesday’s court filing that Heuermann feared getting caught in the months leading up to his arrest.

He obtained data wiping software in an attempt to destroy evidence on his laptops, phones and other electronic devices, they said.

Investigators seized hundreds of devices during their lengthy search of Heuermann’s home that prosecutors say contained troves of bondage and torture pornography.

Heuermann also scoured the internet for phrases that suggested he was afraid of getting caught, including “How does cell site analysis work,” “Gilgo news,” “How cell phone tracking is increasingly being used to solve crimes,” and phrases with the term “Long Island Serial Killer.”

Heuermann’s attorney, Michael Brown, said afterward that his client has maintained his innocence from “day one” and looked forward to defending himself in court.

He also called into question some of the evidence touted by prosecutors Tuesday, suggesting

new DNA analysis connecting Heuermann to the killing was “problematic” since it was being introduced some 13 years after Brainard-Barnes’ body was discovered.

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in response that more sophisticated DNA testing had allowed investigators to more conclusively determine the hairs found with Brainard-Barnes belonged to Heuermann’s ex-wife and daughter.

He also said the indictment marks the end of the investigation into the so-called “Gilgo four” victims and provides “some small measure of closure” for their families.

Prosecutors now turn their attention to prosecuting those cases and investigating other bodies found nearby, Tierney added.

Brainard-Barnes left her hometown of Norwich, Connecticut, on July 9, 2007, and headed to Manhattan for sex work, with plans to return the following day, according to friends who became concerned when she uncharacteristically stopped using her phone.

But the 25-year-old never came back.

Nicolette BrainardBarnes said she was only 7 years old when her mother, who was once employed as a dealer at the Foxwoods Resort Casino, vanished.

“I remember she read to me every night,” the now 24-year-old said, surrounded by other family members following Tuesday’s court hearing. “Now I can no longer remember the sound of her voice.”

Maureen BrainardBarnes’ sister, Melissa Cann, remembered her as a “loving mother and giving friend” who would “never get the chance to show the world how talented she was.”

“Maureen was more than how she has been portrayed,” the 39-yearold said through tears.

Heuermann was arrested July 14 and charged with killing Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Lynn Costello, three women who authorities say also were sex workers.

Heuermann’s lawyer said he has denied committing the crimes.

He previously pleaded not guilty to killing Barthelemy, Waterman and Costello.

Brainard-Barnes was the first of the four women to disappear.

Their remains were found

along the same quartermile (400-meter) stretch of parkway in the Gilgo Beach area of Jones Beach Island in 2010.

Additional searching turned up the remains of six more adults and a toddler who was the child of one of the victims.

Investigators also found electronic evidence that Heuermann had accessed Costello’s prostitution advertisement Sept. 1, 2010, according to court documents.

Police concluded that an 11th person found dead in a tidal marsh on the same barrier island accidentally drowned.

Investigators have said Heuermann, who lived in Massapequa Park across the bay from where the bodies were found, was probably not responsible for all the deaths. Some of the victims disappeared in the mid 1990s.

Investigators zeroed in on Heuermann when a new task force ran an old tip about a Chevy Avalanche pickup through a vehicle records database.

A hit came back identifying one of those make and models belonging to Heuermann, who lived in a neighborhood police had been focusing on because of cellphone location data and call records, authorities said.

With the tip breathing new life into the investigation, authorities charted the calls and travels of multiple cellphones, picked apart email aliases, delved into search histories and collected discarded bottles — and even a pizza crust — for advanced DNA testing, according to court papers.

Detectives said Heuermann’s DNA on the pizza crust matched a hair found on a restraint used in the killings.

Last summer, Heuermann’s ex-wife, stepson and daughter agreed to give DNA samples to prosecutors, according to court documents. Investigators compared them against DNA collected from bottles sipped by Heuermann and tossed into trashcans near his home.

Police said other evidence linked Heuermann to the victims, including burner cellphones used to arrange meetings with the slain women.

After the arrest, investigators spent nearly two weeks combing through Heuermann’s home, including digging up the yard, dismantling a porch and a greenhouse and removing many contents of the house for testing.

SPORTS PAGE 19

THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2024

Kaiwan on road to the Paris Olympics

NPBA BRINGS BACK TRIPLE HEADER NIGHTS

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

T

riple jumper Kaiwan Culmer took a brave leap of faith in October of last year when he made the decision to resign from his site supervisor position at Arawak Homes Ltd to pursue his main goal of trying to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Ultimately, Arawak Homes Ltd declined his resignation and instead made the decision to sponsor his quest in trying to qualify for the marquee event in Paris, France.

Since making the bold move, Culmer has journeyed to Florida State University in Tallahassee where he currently trains with Olympian Leevan “Superman” Sands.

The 27-year-old does not regret making the transition from New Providence to Tallahassee and said the change in environment has yielded great results.

“It is a huge difference.

The change has made a tremendous impact on my training, everything is improving and I am feeling better as an athlete.

“The transition improved how much more into the event I am. It is more exciting to go to practice because I am not exhausted.

“Through it all, I am glad I took the leap of faith to do it which gives me the best chance to make it to the Paris Olympic Games,” Culmer said.

His previous daily routine consisted of trying to balance his professional life as a full-time site supervisor while trying to put in adequate work as a professional athlete.

The routine was not sustainable long term for the jumpman as he would commence his mornings at 6am, train until 8:30am and commute to work for a full

Pro Picks, Page 21

THE 2023-24 New Providence Basketball Association (NPBA) regular season returned to action with a triple header last weekend.

According to NPBA president Ricardo Smith, as a means to keep the association entertaining for basketball fans, they have decided to reintroduce the three-game concept.

The next big game night will feature a trio of games between four of the association’s undefeated squads at the Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium on January 27.

Smith insists that the three games on the slate will be crowd pleasers as the NPBA takes a new approach to the second half of the regular season.

“We came out in 2024 moving our weekend action to Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium and are now trying a triple header with three games in one night to try and see if we can motivate teams to bring their fans out. Persons that come out to watch one game are more likely to stay for another or maybe even three depending on how much of a basketball fan they are. It is an effort to try and see if we could have a different scenery, venue and feel. It is a step up and we want to give our fans that kind of environment,” the NPBA president said.

The Your Essential Store (YES) Giants, the reigning division two champions, will go toe-to-toe with the 4-0 (win/loss record) Cyber Tech Marlins in a featured division two matchup.

Additionally, the Commonwealth Bank Giants, the division one defending champions, will take their undefeated 5-0 record up against the 3-0 Sand Dollar High Flyers.

For this matchup, the High Flyers will look to avenge last year’s 2-0 sweep at the hands of the

TRIPLE jumper Kaiwan Culmer, currently training with Olympian Leevan “Superman” Sands, is pursuing his main goal of trying to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

SEE PAGE 20

SEE PAGE 20

SPORTS CALENDAR

Jan. 2024

AJ STORR POTENTIAL CANDIDATE FOR THE LUTE OLSON NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD

By TENAJH SWEETING Tribune Sports Reporter tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

TENNIS Inaugural Valentine’s Doubles Classic Open Invite THIS February, during the season of love, Insurance Management and The Gym Tennis Club of Winton invite tennis players in the country to experience the “love of the game” with their inaugural Valentine’s Doubles Classic Tennis Open Invitational.

The tournament will begin on February 10 and tennis players from all around the island will converge at the Gym Tennis Club in Winton to battle it out in a “doubles” only tournament featuring four categories, including: Men’s, Ladies, Over 55, and the always entertaining Mixed Doubles category.

Interested players should e-mail “gtctourbah@gmail.com” to get their registration forms. Insurance Management and the Gym Tennis Club encourages fans and those who want

to discover the love of tennis, to come come out, cheer, enjoy and even hit a ball or two.”

NPBA ACTION THE New Providence Basketball Association will continue its regular season action this week: Friday’s schedule at Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium - 7pm - Your Essential Store vs BIBT Grat Whites (DII). 8pm - University of the Bahamas Mingoes vs Zula Media & Symphony (D1) 9pm - Caro Contractors Shockers vs Commonwealth Bank Giants (D1).

Saturday’s schedule at Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium - 7pm - Discount Distributors Rockets vs Mekaddish Millionaires (DII). 8pm - TMT Giants vs Brandon Deli Kings (D1). 9pm - Island Development Rebels vs Discount Liquors Rockets (D1).

SEE PAGE 20

IT is no secret that sophomore AJ Storr has been lighting it up on the court for the University of Wisconsin Badgers in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

The Bahamas senior men’s national basketball team player has steadily improved his play and shouldered the load for the Badgers since transferring from St John’s University, which has now placed him in consideration for the Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award.

The Bahamian sophomore was one of 30 candidates named to the midseason watch list for the annual award. Additionally, he is only one of two Big Ten Conference

SOPHOMORE AJ Storr in action for the University of Wisconsin Badgers in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). players to be included on played a significant role in the 30-member list. the team’s progress, leadThe Badgers currently ing the group in scoring own a conference leading with 15.3 points per game.

13-4 (win/loss record) and His scoring numbers are have only dropped one of night and day compared to six games played in the Big Ten. Storr has no doubt SEE PAGE 20

PAGE 20, Thursday, January 18, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

Murray hits jumper at buzzer to lift Hawks to 106-104 win over Magic (AP) — DEJOUNTE Murray hit a 17-foot jumper as time expired to give the Atlanta Hawks a 106-104 victory over the Orlando Magic last night.

Murray finished with 26 points, and Trae Young scored 18 points on 5-for-14 shooting for Atlanta.

Onyeka Okongwu had 15 points, and Bogdan Bogdanovic and Clint Capela each added 12. The Hawks shot 51.3% but had a season-high 23 turnovers Paolo Banchero scored 26 points to lead the Magic. Wendell Carter Jr. had 18 and Jalen Suggs added 16.

After Banchero made a 3-pointer from a couple of feet beyond the arc to tie it at 104 with 8.4 seconds left, Murray dribbled down the left wing with Markelle Fultz, pulled up and swished the jumper for the win.

KNICKS 109, ROCKETS 94 NEW YORK (AP) — Julius Randle scored 31 points, Jalen Brunson added 30 in his return from a two-game absence and New York beat Houston.

Brunson missed two games because of bruised left calf and Randle struggled without his point guard in a loss to Orlando on Monday, shooting 5 for 18 for 15 points.

But the offence was flowing nicely again in the second half as the Knicks pulled away after leading by two at halftime.

OG Anunoby had 15 points for the Knicks, who reached the halfway point of their schedule at 24-17. Josh Hart finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Fred VanVleet had 24 points and 12 assists for the Rockets, who finished 1-5 on a six-game trip.

Alperen Sengun added 18 points and 10 rebounds in Houston’s eighth straight loss to New York.

KAIWAN CULMER FROM PAGE 19

8-hour shift. Ultimately, he found himself in a constant battle with exhaustion which is now a thing of the past.

“The load I had on me didn’t work for me being a professional athlete. The change from a full day of working, being exhausted and then going to train compared to just waking up in the morning, relaxing, going to practice and taking my time to practice and perfect my craft. I can take as long as I need to do what I need to do and if I am exhausted I can just go home and rest,” he said.

With the obstacle of trying to balance work and athletic life now behind him, the three-time national champion has rediscovered a newfound passion for the triple jump event thanks to a new environment and decorated coach. Sands, who set the men’s triple jump record with 17.59 metres for bronze at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, offers a wealth of knowledge due to his experience within the triple jump event. According to Culmer, working alongside the Olympian has truly been a remarkable experience so far.

“The programme that Leevan has put together

TIMBERWOLVES 124, PISTONS 117 DETROIT (AP) — Anthony Edwards had 27 points and eight assists to lead Minnesota.

The Pistons, who beat the Wizards on Monday, are 2-35 after winning two of their first three games, including a 28-game losing streak that matched the NBA record.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 27 points for Minnesota, which has won three straight. Jaden McDaniels had 23 points and Rudy Gobert added 19 points and 16 assists.

Jaden Ivey scored 32 points for the Pistons, who were starting a six-game homestand without Cade Cunningham (knee). Bojan Bogdanovic had 20 points and Jalen Duren added 16 points and 11 rebounds.

CELTICS 117, SPURS 98 BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 24 points and Jaylen Brown returned from a one-game absence to score 21 as Boston beat San Antonio in Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama’s first game on the Celtics’ famous parquet floor.

The 7-foot-3 French rookie, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, scored 10 points in the first quarter, when San Antonio kept it close.

He finished with 27 points and five rebounds in 27 minutes as the Spurs (7-33), who have the worst record in the Western Conference, lost their third straight.

Jrue Holiday scored 22 points and Luke Kornet matched his season high with nine rebounds for the Celtics, won their third game in a row and improved to 20-0 at home, extending their franchise record.

RAPTORS 121, HEAT 97 TORONTO (AP) — Gary Trent Jr. scored a season-high 28 points,

is second to none. Everything that we do is centred around the triple jump from the very first warm up drill. As a coach, he has done an extraordinary job to write the right programme to help triple jumpers and long jumpers excel in their craft,” he said.

The assistant jumps coach at FSU is quite familiar not only with the triple jump event but also the feat Culmer is actively trying to achieve.

Additionally, the Olympic bronze medallist has competed at four Olympic games and Culmer feels due to Sands’ background in athletics, his coaching ability is unmatched.

“Leevan was a very vibrant athlete but he also took that energy into being a coach. He created an atmosphere of college and professional athletes who love what they do. He creates a fun environment but there is great competitiveness, hard work and he is encouraging. It is just fun to be around him. I feel like since he had an athlete background he knows what it takes,” he said.

For the former national champion, the professional and financial support of Arawak Homes Ltd has also played a big role in making his quest a little bit more comfortable.

The company has alleviated some expenses for Culmer, including his

HAWKS guard Bogdan Bogdanovic (13) passes in the first half yesterday in Atlanta.

(AP Photo/John Bazemore) RJ Barrett had 26 and Toronto never trailed in a win over Miami.

Toronto led by 37 at one point despite playing without forward Pascal Siakam. The two-time All-NBA selection and two-time All-Star is being traded to the Indiana Pacers, according to a person with knowledge of the agreement.

Scottie Barnes scored 20 points and Immanuel Quickley had 17 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for the Raptors.

Jimmy Butler scored 16 points for Miami, whose 35-point halftime deficit was the biggest in team history. Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo also had 16 points each while Duncan Robinson added 14.

PELICANS 132, HORNETS 112 NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Brandon Ingram highlighted a 28-point performance with a career-best seven 3-pointers to go with 10 rebounds and 10 assists,

housing, transportation, diet and supplements costs along with other accommodations.

“The sponsorship to say the least has been very helpful. I don’t think people understand what it takes to be a professional athlete financially.

“There are a lot of expenses centred around being a professional athlete so just the support alone regardless of the amount is helpful because it goes towards something that is not wanted but needed and required.

“During my time there I gave it my best effort, so them investing in me in a way that they did really has to make me really appreciate them.

“It just really shows the type of people that they are outside of the business environment. They are really a good group of corporate citizens,” Culmer said.

Mentally, the 27-year-old is in a great headspace by his standards and his confidence is sky high.

He has no doubts in his abilities to conquer his ultimate goal of qualifying for this summer’s Olympics after countless sacrifices and hard work.

The Olympic qualifying standard for the triple jump is 17.22m and Culmer owns a personal best of 16.52m achieved in 2018.

“I am very confident. I have a lot of faith and faith

SPORTS NOTES

FROM PAGE 19 GSSSA ACTION THE Government Secondary Schools Sports Association continues its regular season action this week at both the CI Gibson and DW Davis Gymnasiums.

Here’s a look at the schedule of games: Thursday CI Gibson at 4 pm - LW Young vs TA Thompson junior girls and boys.

DW Davis Gymnasium at 4 pm - CI Gibson vs CC Sweeting senior boys.

and New Orleans set a franchise record for 3s with 25.

It was the third career tripledouble for Ingram, who received a standing ovation as he checked out of the game for good in the final minutes.

CJ McCollum scored 22 points and hit four times from deep.

Rookie guard Jordan Hawkins made six 3s and finished with 21 points for New Orleans, while Trey Murphy III hit five 3s and scored 18.

LaMelo Ball had 29 points and Terry Rozier added 25 for Charlotte, which trailed most of the game and by 24 in the second half.

Nick Richards added 10 points and 12 rebounds for the struggling Hornets, who have lost six straight and 17 of 18.

CAVALIERS 135, BUCKS 95 CLEVELAND (AP) — Donovan Mitchell had 31 points and Cleveland took advantage of Milwaukee being without superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo to extend their winning streak to a season-best six games.

Antetokounmpo sat with a bruised right shoulder, an injury that kept him out of the lineup for the first time in 29 games — the second longest streak of his career.

The two-time MVP is not expected to be out for an extended period.

Georges Niang made 13 of 14 shots and added a career-high 33 points — 20 in the first half — for the Cavs, who improved to 11-3 since they lost Darius Garland (broken jaw) and Evan Mobley (knee surgery) with injuries last month. Jarrett Allen added 21 points and 13 rebounds — his 10th straight double-double.

Damian Lillard led Milwaukee with 17 points on 7-of-20 shooting.

Khris Middleton had two points, going 1 of 10 from the field.

AJ STORR FROM PAGE 19

his freshman season where he averaged 8.8 points per game with the Red Storm.

In addition to his consistent scoring output, he is collecting 3.2 rebounds per game and dishing out at least one assist. As for efficiency, Storr is knocking down 45 per cent of his field goals this collegiate season.

Most recently, the 6-foot-7 guard poured in a team-high 23 points complemented by 5 rebounds and two assists against the Penn State Nittany Lions on Tuesday. The scoring total marked his second highest for the season. Despite the latest team’s loss, Storr has been on a tear the last six games beginning with a career night versus the Chicago State University Cougars.

The Badgers, who are on the cusp of entering the top 10 of the Big Ten men’s basketball power rankings, saw the guard record a career best 29 points on a crisp 11-for-18 shooting for 61.1 per cent. He canned 3-for-5 three pointers to demoralise the Cougars’ defence to close out 2023.

The accomplishment made the sophomore the first Wisconsin player to drop double digits in each of his first three games since former NBA guard Devin Harris did it in the 2001-02 season.

The winner of the annual award will be decided by a 10-member voting committee mostly composed of current and former head coaches.

The 2024 award recipient will be announced at the NCAA D1 men’s basketball championship in Phoenix, Arizona.

Storr and the no.11 Badgers will be in action again on Friday at 8:30pm versus the Indiana Hoosiers at the Kohl Center.

NPBA

FROM PAGE 19

TRIPLE jumper Kaiwan Culmer, currently training with Olympian Leevan “Superman” Sands, is trying to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. without works is dead. sacrifice but with sacrifice Each and everyday I come you get to achieve some out to the track, I do not of the things you actually skip a beat. I do everything hope for,” he said.

The Paris Olympic according to the books and everything that is planned Games are scheduled for by my coach. It is a lot of July 26 to August 11.

Friday CI Gibson at 4pm - CH Reeves vs DW Davis junior girls and boys.

DW Davis Gymnasium at 4pm - CV Bethel vs Anatol Rodgers senior girls and boys.

BAISS ACTION The Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools will continue its basketball regular season this week with the following games on tap: Thursday at 4 pm Senior girls - Kingsway Academy at St Augustine’s College; Queen’s College at Aquinas College.

Junior boys - St Augustine’s College at Temple Christian Academy; St John’s at Bahamas Academy; Nassau Christian

Academy at Queen’s College; Aquinas College at Charles W. Saunders and St Anne’s at Kingsway Academy.

Friday at 4 pm Senior boys - St Augustine’s College at Nassau Christian Academy; Kingsway Academy at St Andrew’s School; Jordan Prince Williams at Bahamas Academy; Charles W Saunders at Aquinas College.

Junior girls - Queen’s College at St John’s College.

BSAA ACTION The Bahamas Scholastic Athletic Association will continue its basketball regular season action this week with games played every day at the Hope Center’s Michael ‘Scooter’ Ried

Giants in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the defending champions will hope to stay the course.

Smith believes that there is potential for an upset between the two top teams.

“The High Flyers appear to be hungry this year.

They are playing very well together. There could be an upset so we want to bring this to the fans in a special way,” he said.

In more division two action, the 4-1 Produce Express Rockets are set to take on the 2-2 Discount Distributors Rockets.

Tip-off for the full slate of games begins at 7:30pm.

“It is going to be a special treat for our fans because we are gonna have prizes galore. Two flat screen TVs, a stove, and food vouchers. It is going to be a night for our fans to remember,” Smith said.

Tickets are $10 in advance and there will be an additional cost at the door. As previously mentioned, the first game begins 7:30pm at Kendal GL Isaacs Gymnasium on Saturday, January 27.

Basketball Corts, with the following games on tap; Thursday’s schedule, starting at 4 pm JG – C. W. Saunders vs Achiever’s Christian Academy.

JB – Teleos Christian School vs Achiever’s Christian Academy. JB – Freedom Baptist Academy vs Greenville Preparatory Academy. JB – ISBET vs Jordan Prince William.

SB – Akhepran International Academy vs Boost Academy. SB – Genesis Academy vs Mt. Carmel Preparatory Academy.

SB – Greenville Preparatory Academy vs Teleos Christian School. AD – Akhepran International Academy vs St. John’s College.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, January 18, 2024, PAGE 21

Pro Picks: Ravens, Bills, 49ers and Lions will advance to the conference championship games

FOREST, EVERTON ADVANCE TO 4TH ROUND

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer

By STEVE DOUGLAS AP Sports Writer

EIGHT teams remain.

Four games to determine the NFL’s Final Four.

Plenty of story lines.

Josh Allen and the Bills have a third chance to get their first playoff win over Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers hit the road to get respect from C.J. Gardner-Johnson and the Detroit Lions.

Lamar Jackson and the No. 1 seed Ravens aim to change their playoff narrative when they host C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans.

The No. 1 seed 49ers and the Green Bay Packers renew their playoff rivalry with two new quarterbacks leading the way this time around.

After a winning regular season, Pro Picks aims to rebound from a losing start in the wild-card round.

HOUSTON at BALTIMORE Line: Ravens minus 9 1/2 Stroud had a spectacular playoff debut for the Texans (11-7) in a 45-14 rout over Cleveland. Firstyear coach DeMeco Ryans quickly turned the franchise around with Stroud’s help but now they’re the huge underdogs, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Jackson had an All-Pro season leading Baltimore (13-4) to 10 wins over teams that finished with winning records.

The Ravens won eight of those games by at least 14 points, including a 25-9 victory against Houston in Week 1.

These aren’t the same Texans four months later.

Baltimore hopes it’s not the same playoff failure for Jackson, who is just 1-3 in the postseason.

Stroud had one of the best seasons for a rookie quarterback and handled the league’s top-ranked defence last week. But he’s facing another stout unit led by All-Pros Roquan Smith and Kyle Hamilton.

RAVENS, 30-20 GREEN BAY at SAN FRANCISCO Line: 49ers minus 9 1/2 This will be a record 10th playoff meeting between the two teams with San Francisco riding a four-game winning streak behind two wins apiece

by Colin Kaepernick and Jimmy Garoppolo. Now, it’s Brock Purdy’s turn for the 49ers and Jordan Love at QB instead of Aaron Rodgers for the Packers (10-8).

Love also had a sensational playoff debut in a

EVERTON and Nottingham Forest put aside their off-field difficulties by winning FA Cup replays to advance to the fourth round yesterday.

They were playing two days after being charged by the Premier League with breaches of English soccer’s financial rules, which could potentially lead to points deductions for two clubs who are just above the relegation zone.

A deep run in the cup would offer a welcome distraction and Everton, whose last major trophy came when winning the famous competition in 1995, eked out a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace thanks to Andre Gomes’ curling free kick from 25 metres at Goodison Park.

That set up a meeting with another top-flight rival, Luton, in the last 32 on January 27.

Forest needed extra time before seeing off third-tier Blackpool 3-2, with Chris Wood scoring the winner in the 110th minute after his team squandered a twogoal lead.

Andrew Omobamidele and Danilo had put Forest in control at Bloomfield Road, with the visiting players marking the goals by holding aloft the No. 8 jersey of teammate Cheikhou Kouyate as a tribute to the absent midfielder’s father, who recently died.

A message on the jersey read: “Thinking of you, Cheikhou.”

Forest will play secondtier Bristol City next.

FRIENDS REUNITED Jurgen Klopp and David Wagner are such close friends that they regard each other as family. Soon, the two managers will be going head-to-head in the FA Cup. Norwich, the team managed by Wagner, beat Bristol Rovers 3-1 in the night’s other third-round replay to secure a trip to Anfield to play Liverpool, the team coached by Klopp.

The match is on January 28 and it will be a case of friends reunited.

They share a friendship that extends beyond 30 years and started in Germany, when they were teammates at Mainz in the early 1990s.

In 2005, Klopp got married and Wagner was the best man. They were coach (Klopp) and assistant coach (Wagner) for Borussia Dortmund from 2011-15.

Klopp is the godfather to Wagner’s daughter.

It won’t be the first time they’ve been in opposite dugouts in England.

In October 2017, Klopp’s Liverpool beat Wagner’s Huddersfield 3-0 in the Premier League, also at Anfield.

BUFFALO Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) walks off the field after defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in an NFL wild-card playoff football game on Monday in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

48-32 rout over Dallas.

The Cowboys entered with the fifth-ranked defence and had zero answers for coach Matt LaFleur’s game plan. Love, Aaron Jones and Romeo Doubs were unstoppable.

The 49ers (12-5) have a dynamic offence led by All-Pros Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Kyle Juszczyk and Purdy, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk.

They also have a starstudded defence led by All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner and Nick Bosa and Charvarius Ward.

BEST BET: 49ERS, 34-19

TAMPA BAY at DETROIT Line: Lions minus 6 1/2 Mayfield followed up his best season with an excellent performance in a 32-9 victory over Philadelphia.

But Gardner-Johnson, a Lions cornerback, wasn’t all that impressed.

He praised the Buccaneers’ wide receivers this week and added they’d be even better with a good quarterback.

Mayfield responded by questioning whether Gardner-Johnson has watched any film because he mentioned Bucs receiver Russell Gage as one of the dangerous playmakers

even though he’s been injured all season. The trash talk on the field should be fun. Jared Goff led the Lions (13-5) to a 24-23 win over the Rams last week after Detroit’s offence opened with three straight touchdown drives.

Tampa Bay’s defence shut down Jalen Hurts and Philadelphia but now faces a tougher challenge. The Lions cruised to a 20-6 road win over the Buccaneers (10-8) in Week 6.

LIONS, 23-20 KANSAS CITY at BUFFALO Line: Bills minus 2 1/2 Finally, the Bills get the Chiefs at home in January.

Mahomes’ first road playoff game of his career comes after two victories over the Bills at home in consecutive postseasons in the 2020 and 2021 seasons. The teams didn’t face off last year in the playoffs when the Chiefs (12-6) went on to win the Super Bowl. The Bills (12-6) were 6-6 before a 20-17 victory at Kansas City ignited a five-game winning streak to close out the regular season. They’re playing on shorter rest after a snowstorm forced them to play Pittsburgh Monday. The Chiefs had two extra days’ rest after beating Miami last Saturday. BILLS, 24-23

PACKERS MAKING HISTORY AS THEY ADVANCE IN PLAYOFFS WITH LEAGUE’S YOUNGEST ROSTER

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer GREEN BAY, Wisconsin (AP) — This wasn’t the typical formula for producing a title contender.

The Green Bay Packers followed up an 8-9 season by trading four-time MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets and letting plenty of other veterans walk away while assembling the league’s youngest roster. Green Bay has found a way to thrive in the postseason anyhow.

The Packers (10-8) are the youngest team since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to win a playoff game, at least according to one metric.

They’re eager to keep it going as they visit the topseeded San Francisco 49ers (12-5) in an NFC divisional playoff game Saturday night. “Our mindset is to win the Super Bowl,” said wide receiver Christian Watson, a 2022 secondround pick.

History suggested that was an unrealistic proposition.

The Elias Sports Bureau calculated the weighted age of each playoff roster since the AFL-NFL merger by factoring in how many games in which a player appeared. The Packers’ oldest player — 32-yearold offensive tackle David Bakhtiari — suited up for only one game before going on injured reserve.

Green Bay’s weighted age of 25.58 years made this the fourth-youngest playoff team, behind only the 1970 Cincinnati Bengals (25.22), 1970 Miami Dolphins (25.44) and 1974 Buffalo Bills (25.56).

None of those other three teams won a playoff game.

The Packers stunned the Dallas Cowboys 48-32 in the wild-card round to earn their fourth straight victory while showing experience isn’t essential to playoff success. “Obviously yeah, experience is huge in these

GREEN Bay Packers tight end Luke Musgrave runs in a touchdown after making a catch against the Dallas Cowboys during the second half on Sunday in Arlington, Texas.

(AP Photo/Sam Hodde) situations, but I think we’re just confident in our whole team and what we got,” quarterback Jordan Love said. “And now it just comes down to execution, making the most of the plays we have, and I think that’s what we are doing.”

Six of the Packers’ 11 starters on offence Sunday were rookies or

second-year pros. Fifteen of Love’s 16 completions went to rookies or second-year players. The only offensive starters older than 25 were running back Aaron Jones (29), left guard Elgton Jenkins (28) and right guard Jon Runyan Jr. (26).

That young offence went through some growing pains and failed to score a

single first-half touchdown for a five-game stretch earlier this season.

But the Packers have produced at least 33 points in three of their past four games and set a franchise playoff scoring record against the Cowboys, rewarding the faith they always had in themselves.

“I could see just the raw talent that these young kids have,” Runyan said. “I knew that at some point it was going to blossom. I was saying that early on in the season in the media, and people didn’t believe me, But it’s really starting to show its true colours now, and it’s really fun to watch.”

The Packers are the first team since the AFL-NFL merger to have four rookies catch at least 30 passes: Jayden Reed (64), Dontayvion Wicks (39) and tight ends Luke Musgrave (34) and Tucker Kraft (31).

Reed had 64 catches for 793 yards and 10 total touchdowns (eight receiving,

two rushing) in the regular season to lead the Packers in all three categories.

“Always when you give young guys opportunities, sometimes there’s some bumps in the road, which it sounds like they’ve gone through with this year a little bit,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said. “But you get through those. They find a way to win that last game and get in the playoffs, and now they’ve got a good team that you don’t look at it as a bunch of rookies.

You look at guys almost in their second and third year, and they’re playing like it.”

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PAGE 22, Thursday, January 18, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

Djokovic: ‘Say that to my face’

By JOHN PYE AP Sports Writer MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Already sick and tired in another early round slog, Novak Djokovic unloaded on a heckler who crossed the line at the Australian Open.

Defending champion Djokovic angrily challenged the spectator to “say that to my face” and gestured to the man to come down onto the Rod Laver Arena court, the venue for 10 of his record 24 Grand Slam titles.

He then went on a roll, winning three straight games from 2-2 in the fourth set before finishing off Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4) 6-3.

The 36-year-old Serb then turned to the crowd again and yelled, pumping his fist to celebrate the victory.

Asked later what triggered his rage, Djokovic responded: “I mean, you don’t want to know.”

“I was tolerating it for most of the match. At one

point I had enough,” he said. “He didn’t have the courage to come down.

That’s what I was asking him: ‘If you have courage, if you’re such a tough man, tough guy, come down and tell it to my face.’”

That didn’t happen.

Djokovic didn’t ask for the man to be removed.

Stadium security didn’t intervene.

Djokovic moved on to the third round, still simmering a little bit about the episode. “I’m not going to sit and say ‘it’s all good.’

It’s not good,” he said. “Of course, it upsets me. I’m frustrated. I don’t want to be experiencing that, but I have to accept it as it is.

“Sometimes I don’t tolerate when somebody crosses the line. That’s it.”

Djokovic has been dealing with a sore wrist and said after his opening match — a four-hour, four-set win over 18-year-old qualifier Dino Prizmic — that he hasn’t been well. He was struggling against Popyrin, who is ranked 43rd.

So, was it the kind of spark that he needed?

“Look, I don’t want to be in those types of situations.

Yeah, I was flat I guess emotionally.

Game-wise I was quite flat,” he said.

“Maybe that was needed for me to be shaken up a bit and start to find the kind of intensity that I needed to have all match.”

Last year’s losing finalist, Stefanos Tsitsipas, also had a tough time against an Aussie with the crowd behind him on an adjacent court. Tsitsipas wasted match points in the 10th game of the fourth set and then had to save four set points to force a tiebreaker, which he clinched for a 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-2, 7-6 (4) win over Jordan Thompson.

Women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka and U.S. Open winner Coco Gauff avoided the early Day 4 upsets in their draw to advance to the third round, along with 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva.

Three-time major finalist Ons Jabeur lost 6-0, 6-2 in

COCO GAUFF, of the U.S. celebrates after defeating compatriot Caroline Dolehide in their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championships at Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, yesterday.

(AP Photo/Andy Wong)

DJOKOVIC points to a spectator during his second round match yesterday.

54 minutes to Andreeva on Rod Laver, and then 2018 champion Caroline Wozniacki also lost to a young Russian on the No. 3 show court.

Two other 16-year-old players lost on centre court to highly-ranked players: No. 10 Beatriz Haddad Maia accounted for Alina Korneeva 6-1, 6-2 and Sabalenka overpowered Brenda Fruhvirtova 6-3, 6-2.

Gauff, still a teenager herself, extended her winning streak to nine matches at Grand Slams with a 7-6 (2), 6-2 win over fellow American Caroline Dolehide. She’ll next play Alycia Parks, who beat 2021 U.S. Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez 7-5, 6-4.

Sixth-seeded Jabeur went out in 54 minutes against the up-and-coming Andreeva.

“I was really nervous before the match because I’m really inspired by Ons and the way she plays,” said Andreeva, who lost in the junior final here last year.

“Before I started on the WTA Tour, I always watched her matches and was always so inspired.”

Wozniacki, who had two children before returning to the tour late last year after 3 1-2 years away, led by a set and a break before losing 1-6, 6-4, 6-1 to 20-year-old Maria Timofeeva.

Amanda Anisimova, coming back from a sevenmonth mental health break, beat Nadia Podoroska to

move onto a match against Paula Badosa.

No. 8 Maria Sakkari, No. 16 Caroline Garcia and No. 25 Elise Mertens didn’t make it past the second round.

On the men’s side, No. 4 Jannick Sinner, No. 5 Andrey Rublev and No. 10 Alex de Minaur — Australia’s highest-ranked player — advanced in straight sets and progressed along with No. 12 Taylor Fritz, No. 15 Karen Khachanov and U.S. Open semifinalist Ben Shelton, the No. 16 seed, who had a 6-4, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (5) over local hope Chris O’Connell.

A quarterfinalist on debut here last year, Shelton said he enjoyed the atmosphere and the support that the home crowd gave O’Connell and said he could still hear “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi” in his sleep.

PAGE 24, Thursday, January 18, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

‘Bo’ Adderley’s baseball dreams turn into reality

THE NEXT STEP: Bohan “Bo” Adderley had his dreams turn into reality on Tuesday evening when he became one of 20 international prospects to officially sign with the New York Mets. He was the second International Elite (I-Elite) Sports Academy prospect to sign a professional contract during the 2024 MLB International Signing period.

Photos courtesy of Trevere Saunders/360 Designs