02082024 News and Sport

OBITUARIES THURSDAY

HIGH 75ºF LOW 64ºF

CARS! CARS!

The Tribune

CLASSIFIEDS TRADER

Established 1903

L AT E S T

N E W S

O N

T R I B U N E 2 4 2 . C O M

Biggest And Best!

Volume: 121 No.54, February 8, 2024

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: PRICE–$1

POLICE ‘REFUSED TO GIVE RAPE KIT’ Force disputes claims after sex attack allegation

By EARYEL BOWLEG Tribune Staff Reporter ebowleg@tribunemedia.net POLICE yesterday disputed the claims of two American women who alleged in the international press that after they were sexually assaulted in Grand Bahama on Sunday, officers “treated them like criminals” and refused to give

Drifting vessel runs aground

them rape kits.

Amber Shearer and Dongayla Dobson, passengers on a Carnival cruise ship, were on a beach at Pirates Cove in Grand Bahama when the alleged assault happened.

In interviews with a Kentucky news station and the Daily Mail, they claimed SEE PAGE THREE

A LARGE unmanned cargo vessel broke loose from Arawak Cay and ran aground off Saunders Beach yesterday. See PAGE TWO for story.

Photo: Dante Carrer

COURT TOLD OF 28 WOUNDS IN POLICE SHOOTING PROBE

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net THE mother of Valentino Pratt, one of three men killed by police in Blair Estates in 2019, gasped as a pathologist described the estimated 28 gunshot wounds her son suffered as the Coroner’s Court inquest into the matter continued

yesterday.

Police were accused of killing Tony Jamal “Foolish” Penn Smith, Valentino “T-Boy” Pratt and Trevor “Coopz” Cooper on Commonwealth Avenue in the early morning of May 17, 2019. Fifteen officers, including three Defence Force marines, are the SEE PAGE SEVEN

Atlantis deal ends union fight BRIDGE LEAP:

By NEIL HARTNELL and FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporters HOTEL union members will receive the “first of two lump sum payments” early next week after a new industrial deal for the sector was agreed last night

following days of intense negotiations.

Russell Miller, president of the Bahamas Hotel and Restaurant Employers Association (BHREA), which represents Atlantis, the Ocean Club and Lyford Cay Club, last night said via messaged reply that

“I can confirm an agreement has been reached” in response to Tribune Business inquiries.

Atlantis, in a letter issued to employees in the Bahamas Hotel, Catering and Allied Workers Union’s FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

A YEAR after the Chamber of Commerce president in Abaco warned that the housing shortage remains “extremely acute” on the island post-Dorian, Social Services Minister Myles Laroda said he is confident his ministry will provide housing assistance to shanty

MINISTER of Social Services, Myles LaRoda town residents facing eviction on the island.

By JADE RUSSELL Tribune Staff Reporter jrussell@tribunemedia.net

Residents say the island lacks housing even for public school teachers, a concern Daphne DeGregory-Miaoulis, the Abaco Chamber of Commerce president, expressed while discussing an unrelated issue with The Tribune last May, saying: “We still have teachers, doctors and civil servants that don’t have

THE woman who jumped off Paradise Island bridge on Sunday suffered severe depression and was temporarily admitted to Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre for psychiatric care last year, according to her shattered relatives, who wonder what more they could have done to prevent the tragedy.

Chrishna Stuart, 36, also known as ‘Butta’, was a mother of three and a wife to her high school sweetheart. She worked at

SEE PAGE FOUR

SEE PAGE FIVE

LARODA CONFIDENT DESPITE HOUSING SHORTAGE

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

FAMILY TELLS OF FIGHT WITH DEPRESSION

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

PAGE 2, Thursday, February 8, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

Drifting vessel runs aground

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Staff Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A LARGE cargo vessel broke loose from Arawak Cay and ran aground off Saunders Beach yesterday.

Photo:Dante Carrer

AN unmanned cargo vessel that broke free from mooring at the Port of Nassau overnight ran aground off Saunders Beach, drawing attention from curious residents yesterday.

The vessel has a blue and white steel hull and is named “Zanzibar”.

Acting Port Controller Lieutenant Commander Berne Wright told The Tribune yesterday that the vessel is Bahamianregistered. He declined to

disclose the names of the owners.

“It broke loose from its dock overnight,” he said.

“We contacted the vessel’s owners and I met with them (Tuesday) morning to discuss their plan for removing the vessel. They informed me that efforts would be made (Tuesday) evening during high tide.”

Lt Cdr Wright said the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection will determine if there was any damage to the environment.

He couldn’t say if there was cargo on the vessel.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, February 8, 2024, PAGE 3

Police ‘refused to give rape kit’ from page one two men approached them when they arrived at the beach, offering drinks.

They believe the men worked at Pirates Cove and that their drinks were spiked.

Lex18, the Kentucky news station, reported that the women shared photos of preliminary drug tests that showed positive results for benzodiazepines, among other drugs.

“I remember waking up and getting pushed down,” Ms Dobson told the Daily Mail.

“I woke up in the resort bathroom, and there were people all around, and I just felt dirtiness on my legs, and I knew what had happened.

“They told us we had been throwing up, which is a good thing because the drugs would have killed us.”

Ms Shearer criticised the police investigation.

“We were forced to show where our rapes took place

and to face the men whom raped us,” she said.

“There was an American FNP (family nurse practitioner) who tried to stay with us and was refused that right.

“We were told if we went to a Bahamian hospital, they wouldn’t help us return to the US.” Police said in a statement last night that the women declined the assistance medical services offered them, signed a waiver and then left “for their cruise ship in a private vehicle.”

“Recognising the gravity of the incident, our officers boarded the cruise ship, providing a sexual assault kit and hospital form to the ship’s medical doctor and obtained signed statements from the victims,” the statement said.

Police said the force is collaborating closely with the FBI in the ongoing investigation and that Assistant Commissioner of Police Shanta Knowles is “personally ensuring that the investigation is

AMBER Shearer and Dongayla Dobson, passengers on a Carnival cruise ship visiting Grand Bahama, share their claims of being sexually assaulted and alleged treatment by police on a Kentucky news station - LEX 18. conducted with the utmost level of professionalism and care.”

The Daily Mail reported that both women, who are mothers, are spending $4,000 on anti-HIV medication as a precaution while

waiting for an update from Bahamian police.

Police reported on Sunday that a 54-yearold man from Eight Mile Rock and a 40-year-old male from South Bahamia were arrested for allegedly

sexually assaulting two women on February 4.

“We recognise the seriousness of such matters and handle them with the highest level of professionalism, privacy and sensitivity,” police said yesterday.

BLAZE DESTROYS APARTMENT ON BAILLOU HILL RD Man charged for two counts of rape over separate incidents

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

FIREMEN bring a blaze under control as fire engulfed an apartment on Baillou Road South yesterday morning, leaving two families homeless.

Photos: Moise Amisial

A 26-YEAR-OLD man was remanded in custody yesterday after he allegedly sexually assaulted two women in separate incidents in New Providence in the last four months.One of his victims was a Mexican woman he allegedly abducted at knifepoint on Paradise Island, where he sexually abused her in his car.

Magistrate Raquel Whyms charged Shannon Wayde Rolle with two counts of rape, two counts of armed robbery and abetment to rape.

Rolle and a male accomplice allegedly lured a 31-year-old woman to a barely trafficked area of western New Providence at around 7pm on October 9, 2023. Rolle and his accomplice both allegedly raped the woman at knifepoint before stealing $300 in cash from her and fleeing the area.

One of the men in this incident was reportedly known by the victim.

Rolle allegedly drove alongside a 29-year-old Mexican woman as she was walking on Casino Drive on Paradise Island sometime around 2am on January 27. Rolle allegedly forced her into his vehicle with a knife, where he then sexually assaulted her.

The defendant also allegedly stole $200 cash from the woman before he forced her out of his vehicle and sped away.

Rolle was told that his matter would be moved 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.

The accused’s VBI is slated for service on May 22.

PAGE 4, Thursday, February 8, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

Laroda confident despite Abaco housing shortage from page one affordable housing.”

Ministry of Works officials recently posted over 400 eviction notices across three shanty towns in Abaco, giving residents 28 days to pack up and leave.

Despite the longstanding housing concerns, Mr Laroda said the Department of Housing is confident those needing help will get it.

“Social Services, just as it has made available in Nassau, will make available in Abaco or any of those jurisdictions where people may be adversely affected; some form of temporary housing until the matter can be resolved for the individuals,” he said.

He said he expects to meet with the director today concerning the issue.

“If the trends hold up in Abaco as it did in New Providence, the numbers are relatively small, and we know each island turns on its own facts, but we are pretty confident that we’ll be able to handle those affected.”

Longtime Abaco resident and businessman Nixon Joseph disagrees.

“I don’t care what they saying, ain’t no way they gon’ find homes for all of those people,” he said

yesterday.

“There are people right now who can’t come back home because they can’t find no place to stay. They don’t even have a place for their teachers to stay so how could they talk about they have a place to stay?”

He said people don’t mind renting, but find it difficult to get a place.

Government officials have repeatedly said that living accommodations will only be provided to Bahamians or legal residents displaced by demolition activities.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Works, people who fall in this category can get food assistance, up to $1,200 annually for rent or temporary shelter for up to six months.

The statement said monetary assistance for utility bills also will be available upon request.

Yesterday, Works Minister Clay Sweeting said the government cannot force people to seek help if they don’t want it.

“We do proper data collection before we take out this exercise,” he said.

“So we ensure we know how many Bahamians are located there, how many children, how many permanent residents, how many persons who have permits,

how many persons who do not have status.

“So this is a holistic approach, and I’ve seen in the headlines after every exercise it seems that you see in a headline that this one doesn’t have a home.

I can tell you, we do have empathy when we deal with these situations and assistance is provided.”

Mr Sweeting pushed back against the idea that the impending eviction and demolition exercises will increase homelessness.

“They’re not left to be homeless because if you don’t have status, then you’re repatriated, because if you don’t have a permit or you don’t have a permanent residence or if you’re not a citizen, then you’re repatriated.

Immigration takes care of that issue,” he said.

The government’s push to demolish shanty towns in Abaco –– where Mr Sweeting said more than 90 per cent of the homes reportedly lack running water –– comes after structures in the Kool Acres, All Saints Way and Area 52 shanty towns of New Providence were destroyed.

Mr Sweeting said the action is not just a demolition exercise, but one that advises “people to adhere to the law.”

MINISTER OF SOCIAL SERVICES MYLES LARODA

Opposition members abstain as Bail Amendment Act passes in the House

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net MEMBERS of the opposition abstained from voting as a bill to amend the Bail Act passed the House of Assembly yesterday.

The amendment targets those who commit alleged offences while on bail by removing a magistrate’s ability to fine them and instead forces the judge to remand them to prison.

The Free National Movement said the bill does not go far enough in addressing bail issues, but instead unlawfully restrains the judiciary’s discretion.

“The bail amendment bill does not address whether it prevents the granting of bail nor the revocation of bail for those who breach bail conditions. This has been and remains a matter for the courts to decide,” the

FNM said in a statement.

“When used properly, the present Act already allows the court to revoke the bail of persons who breach conditions or commit offences when the court is persuaded that it is appropriate to do so.

“We find the government’s bail amendment bill has been a rushed knee-jerk reaction to the unacceptable escalation in crime. It should be remembered that the attorney general, minister of national security, and the prime minister have all previously remarked that adjustments to the Bail Act will not solve our crime problem. The shaky bill before us has been amended several times in less than a week.”

The opposition highlighted its proposed amendments, which the governing party did not accept.

MEMBERS of the opposition abstained from voting as a bill to amend the Bail Act passed the House of Assembly yesterday.

Photo: Dante Carrer

BTC appoints new director of TRAFFIC FATALITY legal and government affairs STEPHEN CoakleyWells has been appointed Director of Legal & Government Affairs at the Bahamas Telecommunications Company Limited (BTC).

BTC said in a press statement yesterday that Mr Coakley-Wells replaces Nicole Watkins, director of legal, regulatory and carrier services, who has decided to leave the business after eight years of service.

“Mr Coakley-Wells is an expert and thought leader on financial regulation, risk, compliance, and taxation policy, and joins BTC from the government

of Belize, where he was commissioner and consultant advisor at the Financial Services Commission in the Ministry of Finance,” BTC said.

“Prior to that, he was special policy advisor for legal and regulatory affairs for the government of The Bahamas, and Deputy Executive Director of the Securities Commission.

“Mr Coakley-Wells also has extensive experience in the private sector, having previously held senior leadership positions at several prominent financial institutions and legal firms.”

A MAN was killed in a traffic accident around 6am yesterday.

Police said a collision occurred between a Nissan Note travelling east and a Chevrolet Trax travelling west along the Meeting Street corridor.

Four adult men, the occupants of the Nissan vehicle, sustained injuries.

The 32-year-old male passenger in the rear of the car died of his injuries on the scene.

The others were taken to the hospital by ambulance for medical attention.

The lone woman in the Chevrolet also sustained injuries and was taken to the hospital for assistance.

The Serious Accident Reconstruction team from the traffic division will investigate the incident.

THE TRIBUNE

Thursday, February 8, 2024, PAGE 5

Bridge leap: Family tells of fight with depression from page one Atlantis as a security officer for over a decade.

Police said on Sunday, they received an anonymous call that the distressed woman was trying to jump from the bridge. When officers arrived at the scene, they didn’t see her but were alerted by people on a nearby vessel who retrieved her unresponsive body from the water.

The woman’s mother, Yvonne Stuart, said her daughter was kind and went out of her way to help others.

“If she had just talked to someone, you know, and say she had a problem, but she never talked,” said the Abaco resident, holding back tears.

“Even Friday, she called me asking me if I was okay.”

“I was in Eleuthera, but she always makes a regular

CHRISHNA STUART, 36, also known as ‘Butta’. call like every day.”

Michelle Bethel, Ms Stuart’s aunt, said her niece suffered a mental breakdown in June 2023.

That’s when relatives learned she had been hurting in silence. She said after the breakdown, the family began seeking ongoing psychiatric care for her and, at

one point, admitted her to Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre.

Ms Bethel said she began living with the woman for a time after her breakdown, giving her full-time care and monitoring.

She said her niece struggled with trauma she didn’t talk about.

“There was a combination of things over the years,” she said.

“And so there was a lot of trauma. I would say they had diagnosed her as severely depressed.

“And we went through psychiatric and psychological assessments. She went to the doctor every week.

And finally, when it became so extreme that we couldn’t continue with the outpatient, we had her admitted to Sandilands.”

The family believed the woman was improving after her time in Sandilands and

saw no signs of struggles in January or the holiday season.

Ms Bethel said eventually, the woman returned to her home and to work.

“She was doing well,” she said.

She said Ms Stuart ran away from home the day she committed suicide.

“I feel like she broke again, and we didn’t take precautions; we didn’t have time,” she said.

She said she learned her niece jumped from a bridge after seeing a video circulating online.

She wants more sensitivity around mental health issues, noting that people criticised her family on social media after the woman’s death.

Andica Miller, Ms Stuart’s cousin, said she works at Atlantis as a cook and saw her relative often on her way to work.

CHRISHNA Stuart was a mother of three.

“I feel like I failed her,” she said.

“But she never showed that side to say that she’s hurting or something is wrong.

“That really shook me up to say what went wrong.

Like, what could I have done? That’s why you have to check on your strong people, whether it’s family or friends because you never know that one call or that conversation could help so much.”

21-YEAR-OLD ACCUSED OF TAKING CAR AT GUNPOINT

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A 21-YEAR-OLD man was imprisoned yesterday after he allegedly robbed a man of his car at gunpoint on the Eastern Road in December.

Magistrate Kendra Kelly charged Shanton McSweeney with two counts of armed robbery.

McSweeney, while armed with a black handgun, allegedly pulled up beside Mitchell Ingraham along with an accomplice as he sat in his red 2013 Mazda Verisa on Eastern Road at 8pm on December 20, 2023. The pair are accused of stealing Ingraham’s $7,000 vehicle along with his TLC S30 cellphone and driving away with it and

their own grey vehicle in a northerly direction.

On the same day, McSweeney, allegedly armed again with a gun, stole Technical Sanon’s $200 Kipling bag, $50 white AirPods, a $350 black iPhone XR and $20 in cash.

McSweeney was told that his case 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.

He was informed that there would be a kiosk at the prison where he could begin his bail application.

Before being taken into remand, he was allowed a moment with his mother in court.

His VBI is set for service on April 26.

TWO YEARS FOR HAVING LOADED GUN

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net A 37-YEAR-OLD male was sentenced to two years in prison after he admitted to having a loaded gun in his car on Tonique Williams Darling Highway last week.

Magistrate Lennox Coleby charged Alvardo Bain, Javardo Bain, 20, Alkeno Bain, 31, and Marleah Sands, 21, with possession of an unlicensed firearm and possession of ammunition.

Murrio Ducille KC represented the accused.

The four men were arrested after police found a black Taurus 9mm pistol and ten rounds of 9mm ammunition in their red Suzuki Swift on February 3.

Although all four defendants initially pleaded not guilty to the charge, after prosecutor ASP Lincoln McKenzie objected to bail, citing a rise in gun violence in the ongoing gang war, Alvardo changed his plea to guilty.

The charges against the remaining three defendants were withdrawn.

Alvardo was then sentenced to 24 months at the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services.

CENTRE front row: left to right: Dr. Donovan Stanberry, Campus Registrar, Mona Campus; Professor Densil A. Williams, Principal, Mona Campus; Dr. Corrine SinQuee Brown, Director, UWI SCMR, The Bahamas; Professor Minerva Thame, Dean, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Mona Campus. Back row centre: Dr. Maurice Smith, University Registrar, The UWI.

UWI school welcomes the principal of Mona Campus THE University of the West Indies School of Clinical Medicine & Research, The Bahamas (UWI SCMR) recently extended a warm welcome to Professor Densil A. Williams, the recently appointed Principal of the Mona Campus, and the members of his Executive team.

Professor Williams, a distinguished expert in international business, has previously served as the Principal of the UWI Five Islands Campus and as the former Pro-Vice Chancellor for Industry/Academic Partnerships and Planning at The UWI. During the team’s visit on

January 24 and 25, they actively engaged with the students, faculty, and administrative staff of the school; re-assuring the SCMR, The Bahamas, that they continue to be an important and valued member of the UWI community.

PAGE 6, Thursday, February 8, 2024

THE TRIBUNE

The Tribune Limited

PICTURE OF THE DAY

NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI “Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914

SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH,

Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991 C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B. Publisher/Editor 1972-

EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON,

Published daily Monday to Friday

Shirley & Deveaux Streets, Nassau, Bahamas N3207 TELEPHONES News & General Information Advertising Manager Circulation Department Nassau fax Freeport, Grand Bahama Freeport fax

(242) 322-1986 (242) 502-2394 (242) 502-2386 (242) 328-2398 (242)-352-6608 (242) 352-9348

WEBSITE, TWITTER & FACEBOOK www.tribune242.com

@tribune242

tribune news network

NASA is looking for commercial Mars missions. Do people still want to go to Mars?

(This article is by Steven Tingay, John Curtin Distinguished Professor (Radio Astronomy) at Curtin University for THE CONVERSATION)

NASA is moving in favour of specifying requirements and then assessing the solutions commercial providers might supply in a competitive process.

MARS has been a source of myth, lore and inspiration since antiquity. It is also an interesting place to research – a legitimate candidate for us to find some form of alien life.

Since the 1960s, Mars has been a popular destination for space missions. Now, for the first time, NASA has invited the private sector to submit proposals on commercial Mars missions.

These missions would range from carrying various payloads to the red planet, to providing communications relay services.

No talk of a Mars astronaut just yet.

But do people still want to go to Mars? Absolutely.

One question is, what is the best way to get people there? Another question – should we?

Pros and cons It appears that now, even compared to 20 years ago, such an approach has become much more viable, as demonstrated by SpaceX. In theory, it could be cheaper and more efficient.

Likely the bigger positive effect will be the substantial stimulus to the commercial sector.

With companies innovating to meet the requirements of space missions, the technology spin-offs will potentially have more economic and social impact than getting to Mars itself.

There is a good history of this from the development of technologies for space and from mega-science projects more generally.

However, it is very early days and the commercial approach has to prove itself.

There is always an argument that once you start to cease in-house development at a place like NASA, capabilities start to gradually decay.

Time will tell.

The first steps – reaching the Moon – will go a long way in testing the approach.

Modern exploration of Mars Since 1960, there have been 50 missions with scientific and technical objectives related to Mars.

Thirty-one of these have been deemed successful, which is not a bad strike rate.

There have also been plenty of spectacular failures, like the crash of the Schiaparelli lander in 2016.

A better way to do business?

NASA is starting to explore different ways to undertake space missions.

For decades, NASA and other space agencies around the world have spent large sums on in-house planning, development, prototyping and production for space missions.

In the 2020s, the technologies that enable and support space exploration are increasingly being developed in the commercial world.

An example most people will be familiar with is Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Many of the SpaceX objectives have Mars and beyond as the ultimate goal – “making humanity interplanetary”.

The development of the Falcon rockets by SpaceX, Starlink satellites, and the Starship rocket could not be further from NASA’s historical model.

Where the NASA approach has been conservative, SpaceX makes lots of changes fast, iterates quickly, and learns quickly from failure.

And SpaceX is not alone. There is a growing industry of commercial providers of access to space, particularly in the United States.

NASA’s current roadmap involves going “back to the Moon” to reestablish a human presence with the Artemis programme, then on to a human presence on Mars.

In this roadmap, the concept of leveraging commercial providers has taken hold.

Instead of in-house development,

But should humans go to Mars?

Mars entered the modern psyche as a place of mystery, promise and danger. This was illustrated vividly more than 100 years ago by H.G. Wells in the novel The War of the Worlds. The number of books, songs, TV shows and movies about Mars is enormous, containing some great (and not so great) art.

Should humans go to Mars? Musk wants to do it, sure.

In the 2010s, the Dutch Mars One startup selected 100 volunteers to travel to Mars on a one-way ticket and raised millions of dollars before going bankrupt in 2019.

There will always be some crosssection of society wanting to live on Mars.

Some will argue that before humans become interplanetary and start to “mess up” another planet, we should make sure Earth is looked after.

Others point out that space exploration should do more to include sustainability.

Despite this debate, if the history of human exploration is anything to go by, you only need a tiny fraction of the population to be motivated enough to do it. If they also have the capital, it will happen.

I can’t see that Mars will be much different.

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

ZACH Bryant blends into his surroundings as he digs his truck out from heavy snow amid whiteout conditions, Wednesday, in Flagstaff, Arizona.

(Jake Bacon/Arizona Daily Sun via AP)

Economics and crime EDITOR, The Tribune

THANKS again in advance for space to address two issues sure to intersect in ways some of us cannot imagine or desire if we can: Economics and crime!

As we emphasized in our last letter, Economics is a social science. It focuses on the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services, and has ramifications on a wide range of areas, including people, politics, psychology, business and law.

We maintain that Wynne’s continued flirtation with Goodman’s Bay park and beach facilities, and their latest offer to “demolish the running track, rebuild it with a concrete path and a rubberized floor and there will be three lanes in the colours of the Bahamian flag,” should be taken with a box of salt!

The admonition to “never look a gift horse in the mouth,” should be followed with an even stronger warning to “beware of Greeks bearing gifts!”

This continuing effort to inject more commercial activity into the Goodman’s Bay space should be a cause of concern for what it could portend for the ability of Bahamians to enjoy a beach experience without worrying that the lack of commercial success for some venture will remove that ability.

Remember, that beach is one of the few remaining outlets for what is slowly becoming a landlocked population without access to the azure waters used to lure visitors to our shores.

We must be careful not to further build a coastal ocean-view luxury environment for foreigners to enjoy while creating worker camps of growing poverty and violence and hopeless people for these foreigners to employ.

If we still understand the principles that produce healthy communities, let us remind ourselves that we have real people with real ambitions, abilities, hopes and dreams who need space to live, to mix and mingle and socialize so that they too can realize their dreams.

Open spaces of quality are a must for people to live together happily and positively; for them to become good and great citizens; to be productive to live lives of accomplishment and excellent! This is the only way to build a beautiful Bahamas.

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net

We were not surprised to learn that Peter Knight, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Environment and Planning agency of Jamaica is fighting charges by local Jamaicans that the Government is denying access to public beaches, including the Bob Marley Beach in Bull Bay, St. Andrew and the beach at Little Dunn’s River in Ocho Rios, St. Ann. Jamaican citizens have also argued that their access points to some beaches have been barred by tourism interests or hoteliers.

Ahhh! Jamaica! Once the name that was top of mind to the international travel community when it came to planning a vacation to our region.

That is until the early 1970’s when it became the killing fields of the Caribbean and its vaunted tourism industry disappeared. Are we looking to follow in Jamaica’s footsteps?

Now we move from Economics to Crime!

Before we go further, we must ask, “What, pray tell, has unleashed this torrent of bloodshed that has soiled the New Providence landscape, specifically in the last 40 days?”

We believe: 1. The police need to make all violence, including gang violence a top priority.

2. The government has to engage every child and young person in sound educational programmes. Good education and training are critical to healthy growth and development for the people and the country.

3. The government also needs to create just laws that promote fairness, protection, and encouragement of culture, commerce, and community and enforce them. Individual rights, growth, and development must be protected and encouraged at all costs.

4. The government needs to clearly define a balanced role in public and private economics and finances.

It currently exercises too much control in these areas and consequently limits and even destroys the ability and potential of too many people.

So, an unprecedented level of brass verdicts continue to be dispensed on the streets of New Providence with twenty-five of them at this writing, one month and

six days into a new year!

For number 25, we were privileged to have CBS News Miami on the scene!

We are as alarmed as any other citizen at what appears to be a breakdown of law and order, gang related or not! It has been reported that two Jamaican nationals (in possession of AK47’s) were arrested along with a Bahamian female in downtown Nassau.

So, these suggestions, which have been shared with others privately, we now offer publicly: UÊ / iÊ *À iÊ ÃÌiÀÊ should convene a meeting immediately which should include the DPM, Min. of National Security, Attorney General, Leader of the Opposition and his Deputy, Min. of Education, President of the Christian Council and another representative, the Commissioner of Police and his Deputy, the Commodore of the Defence Force and his Deputy, President of the BUT, Heads of Umbrella Lodges (Prince Hall, Scottish and English Constitutions), Rotary, Kiwanis, Heads of Greek Organizations (Alpha, Kappa and Omega), and Heads of the major sports umbrella organizations (Softball, Baseball, Basketball and Soccer), to begin with. This is not an exhaustive list and can and maybe should be expanded.

UÊ / ÃÊ iiÌ }Ê ÜiÊ ÃÕ}gest should include the following information: a breakdown of all the murders (who are they and are they all gang related?); the names of all the gangs, their leaders and the numbers in those gangs; and where the gangs live and operate.

This information should be available to the police as it is to most street denizens.

It would not be out of order, we believe, to invite the Chief Justice as an observer.

There should be specific action points agreed at the end of the meeting, included targeted action of known malcontents.

We believe the Bahamian public and now the international community need to see intent in action … in reality, the Leadership demanded at such a time as this!

To borrow from our late colleague, P Anthony White, “For What It’s Worth.”

ANTHONY “Ace” NEWBOLD February, 2024.

Court told of 28 wounds in police shooting probe THE TRIBUNE

from page one

subject of the inquest.

Dr Caryn Sands, a pathologist at PMH, testified that she completed the autopsies of the three men between March 22 and 27, 2019.

Dr Sands said that Pratt’s cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head, torso and extremities.

Victoria Roberts, Pratt’s mother, became distraught and had to leave the courtroom as Dr Sands detailed her only child’s injuries with the aid of photos taken at

Thursday, February 8, 2024, PAGE 7

where Dr Sands said the bullet fragmented.

She said Smith suffered fractured ribs. She also said that a bullet entered the right side of his back and exited through his front chest just below his neck.

Smith Sr’s 11-year-old son, Tony Jr, had previously testified that officers shot the deceased in the back as he attempted to surrender.

Dr Sands told Mr Munroe that she could not say the exact position the deceased was in at the time of his death.

However, when

POLICE remove a body from the scene of a police involved shooting where three men died on May 17, 2019. the morgue.

There was a gunshot wound to Pratt’s head after a bullet entered the right side of his face and exited just to the front of his ear.

Another bullet went through the right side of his head exiting at the top of his ear, causing bleeding to his brain.

Dr Sands said a bullet through the right side of Pratt’s chest went through his ribs, heart and left lung before exiting the left side of his back.

Dr Sands also described Pratt’s gunshot wounds to his thighs and groin area, with a wound to the proximal shaft of his penis.

She said the deceased suffered two fractured arms from bullet damage, and his right arm appeared deformed from the fracture.

She also detailed that he had gunshot wounds to his buttocks, and bullets grazed his left forehead and right cheek.

Dr Sands said she recovered bullets from the man’s right thigh and buttocks.

When K Melvin Munroe, the attorney who represents the officers in the inquest, asked if someone could be shot in the groin while lying on their stomach, Dr Sands said no.

She also said it was unlikely for Pratt to get a gunshot wound to his chest while lying on his stomach.

Ms Roberts had testified earlier that her son was shot on the ground as he tried to emerge from under a bed.

Dr Sands clarified for Ciji Smith-Curry, an attorney for the estates, that a person’s chest must be facing an oncoming bullet for the entrance of a gunshot wound to be there. She said it was possible that the man was lying on his back instead.

She agreed with Mrs Smith-Curry’s statement that Pratt suffered about 28 gunshot wounds. She also agreed that his arm injuries could have been caused by him raising his arms in a defensive position over his chest.

In detailing Tony Smith’s autopsy, Dr Sands listed his cause of death as gunshot wounds to the chest.

She described how Smith had a gunshot wound to his right flank side closer to his back with a dark contusion around it. The bullet that made this wound passed through Smith’s lungs and heart and exited through the left side of his chest, going upwards. There were two exit wounds from

questioned by Romona Farquharson Seymour, another attorney for the estates, Dr Sands said the contusion on Smith’s side could have been caused by the muzzle of a gun being pressed right against his skin before it was fired as a contact wound.

Consequently, she also said it was possible the contact wound was caused by the bullet passing through something before entering Smith’s body.

During Dr Sands’ testimony on Trevor Cooper’s autopsy, she said his cause of death was gunshot wounds to the head, torso and extremities.

She described how a bullet entered the top of Cooper’s head and then went through his scalp and brain before stopping on the right side of his anterior neck. An autopsy photo of this gunshot wound showed the bullet bulging almost out of his neck. Dr Sands said she recovered this deformed bullet after the photo was taken.

She also said Cooper had a fractured skull. She said the deceased had a gunshot wound to his face after a bullet entered the left side near his jaw and exited the right side under his chin.

Another bullet also entered the left side of Cooper’s neck near his Adam’s Apple and went through his trachea before exiting the right side of his neck, slightly downward.

Dr Sands said a bullet hit the deceased’s vertebrae and that a bullet was recovered from his left chest cavity.

She also detailed how a bullet entered the right side of his abdomen and penetrated his stomach and liver before exiting through his left flank. A bullet also pierced his intestines.

She said she observed gunshot wounds to his left shoulder, right buttocks, thighs and right arm. She also noted that Cooper had a laceration on his hands with a possible exit-entry wound near the exterior of his palms.

She confirmed to Mr Munroe that none of the men had evidence of closerange discharge on their bodies. After explaining that close-range fire would be a couple inches to three feet away, she said there was no soot near Smith’s contusion that would indicate he was fired upon at close range.

When questioned by Ryzard Humes, the last

attorney for the estates, on the position of the gunshot wound to the top of Cooper’s head, Dr Sands said that it was unlikely that Cooper was standing up due to the trajectory of the bullet. She further said that if the man was standing up, a wound like that would only be possible if Cooper’s assailants were shooting from above him.

Dr Sands explained to Mr Humes that this wound

would have incapacitated Cooper, but would not have proven immediately fatal.

Officers had previously testified that Cooper’s body was found slumped over a front seat in a bullet-riddled silver coloured vehicle in the mansion’s garage.

Dr Sands could not say definitely whether the wounds to the man’s arm were from him raising it in a defensive position, but agreed that he suffered from

about 17 gunshot wounds.

Dr Cyprian Collie, a forensic toxicologist at the police lab, discussed the toxicology reports of the three men, which were prepared by the Miami Dade Medical Examiner’s Office in late 2019.

Tony Smith’s blood and vitreous humour samples tested positive for ethanol and cannabinoids, indicating the deceased may have been drinking alcohol and

smoking marijuana prior to his death.

The toxicology samples of Cooper and Pratt also found traces of cannabinoids.

Dr Collie said that drugs could move from an area of high to low concentration in a person’s body post-mortem.

Dr Collie will be crossexamined when his testimony continues later this week.

PAGE 8, Thursday, February 8, 2024

A culture of violence is metastasizing: Why are we surprised?

WE have gone to bed most evenings and/or have awakened most mornings in the New Year with fresh social media posts and news about the latest murder(s).

The killing frenzy – it is not a “spurt” – has surprised many of us. Why are we surprised?

Though we have not experienced such sustained bloodshed and violence for some time, the roots and cancerous cells of this violence have been nurtured, ignored and metastasizing for decades.

Over these decades, some of us have sought to rationalise, play games with, normalise, put our heads in the sand over, or colluded in the violence and criminality killing, maiming and brutalising fellow citizens and human beings.

How could any politician in good conscience believe that it was legitimate to erect billboards on murder statistics before a general election in order to score political points? Was there no consideration as to how this might affect tourism?

A 2014 Tribune story reported: “Bahamian leaders in every sector of society failed to address crime warnings nearly ten years ago, according to Rev Dr CB Moss, who said the country was ‘reaping the bitter fruits of our neglect’.

“Rev Moss, President of the Bain and Grants Town Advancement Association (BGTAA), said anti-crime initiatives were summarily dismissed with an overriding sentiment that crime was bound to specific areas and only affected criminals.”

The culture of violence and brutality some of us have created, aided and abetted, will continue to worsen. It is possible for us to have many more than a hundred murders and many more attempted murders and shootings a year.

Did we believe in the 1970s that we could have over a hundred murders a year? What makes us believe that by the end of this decade, or sooner, that we will not be nearing or over 200 murders a year?

And, what about the decades to come?

Did we think we could indulge the mass corruption of the drug era with little consequence to our social fabric and culture? The nefarious influence of that period continues to poison us.

Over the years, some have asked whether The Bahamas, may become like Jamaica in terms of crime and violence. There are

differences between the two countries. We do not have the kind and level of political violence between the two major parties in Jamaica.

Still, what are the similarities? It would be smug to believe that there are no lessons to learn from our Caribbean neighbour. A major lesson: Once a culture of crime and violence becomes embedded and implanted, it is difficult to confront.

A friend recently referenced, A Brief History of Seven Killings, a novel by Jamaican author, Marlon James, published in 2014.

The book covers several decades, including the attempted assassination of Bob Marley, two days a concert to quell violence “through [to] the crack wars in New York City in the 1980s and a changed Jamaica in the 1990s.”

But the culture of violence and crime in Jamaica began to grow stronger in the mid- to late 1960s. A friend who attended the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies in Kingston admits to being naïve about crime in Jamaica.

She thought that Jamaica was generally like The Bahamas when it came to crime. She was warned by Jamaican classmates not to go to certain neighbourhoods and to be careful in the evenings.

From the 1960s to the 2020s, many thousands of Jamaicans have been murdered and injured. A gangland and ingrained culture of violence is embedded in Jamaica.

THE TRIBUNE

‘...what is disturbing is that some of our leaders only now appear more concerned because the high level of crime is affecting tourism, and presumably their political fortunes.’

More recently, the country has made significant economic progress and experienced a reduction in crime.

As Caribbean National Weekly (CNW) reported yesterday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness “said serious crime was down by 11% last year, murders down by 8%, rapes down 15%.

Across the board, he said, crime was at a 22-year low”.

What can we learn from our neighbour in reducing crime?

The US State Department recently issued travel advisories for Jamaica and The Bahamas, with the former at Level 3, and the latter, at Level 2. The advisories are having an adverse effect on tourism in both countries.

There are questions and concerns about the nature of these advisories. CNW further reported that according to “Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States, Audrey Marks, there has been a record number of cancellations since the advisory was published.

“Ambassador Marks said that the advisory ‘distorts the reality’ of what Jamaica is really like and has urged the United States government to reconsider.

“She pointed out that serious crimes against tourists are extremely rare in Jamaica. In fact, the data, she said, shows that American tourists are safer in Jamaica than in many cities in the United States.”

These are important arguments. Still, for The Bahamas, this does not negate the murder wave we are experiencing, even if one feels that some of the U.S. media is sensationalizing what is going on. And, yes, there is panic and irrationality by American tourists, a number of whom have cancelled Family Island vacations.

Still, what is disturbing is that some of our leaders only

now appear more concerned because the high level of crime is affecting tourism, and presumably their political fortunes.

Some of our elites comforted themselves that crime was confined to the “ghetto”.

Now, after it has exploded in New Providence and ricocheting on American television, including in our major tourism markets of Florida and New York, it is being taken more seriously.

It is imperative that we do all we can to keep visitors safe. But is it not equally imperative that we do much more to address the frequency and depth of violence in the country?

We have failed miserably to put in place the comprehensive intervention structures and initiatives needed as genuine violence interrupters in terms of programmes and personnel. Some have allowed our prison to become a “graduate school” for violence while sending their children to colleges overseas.

Others are so bereft of workable ideas to address crime that their fevered response is more violence, brutality and revenge in the form of hangings.

Dr James Gilligan and others have written extensively on the correlation between inequality and crime. Those countries with the least inequality experience the least violence.

By example, there is more crime and violence in the United States than other developed nations because of the greater inequality in America.

Personal choices and familial failure contribute to our culture of crime. But so do inequality and the gap between the elites and those at lower socio-economic levels.

In recent impassioned statements, Rev TG Morrison, Pastor of Zion Baptist Church, asked who is benefitting from crime. He said

some of our leaders are “numb” to the realities around them. He referred to those who will, “do anything for money!”

Worse than numb, some of our leaders are wholly indifferent. They do not use our local hospitals, they do not have to worry about health care costs, their children are in elite schools, they do not have to worry about the costs of food, utilities, transportation, and the other grinding realities of daily life.

When one is feted and fattened at the table of greed and creature comforts, it is easy to forget those who are literally and figuratively hungry in The Bahamas. It is easy to live in a bubble, even on a small island such as New Providence.

Bubbles tend to burst in ways unsuspected. If the violence continues to grow, do not be surprised if some international homeowners and visitors in certain luxury gated communities on Western New Providence decide to relocate or not visit.

Do not be surprised if foreign investors or others considering buying second homes determine that New Providence is not safe. Do not be surprised if group bookings, one of the most profitable components of tourism, decline.

Sadly, it appears that it is not the plight and plea of those dying from and involved in crime that has moved some of our leaders.

Instead, it appears that it is the urgent prompting and reports by embassies, foreign media and investors, and business elites who are prying open the closed ears and blind eyes of some of our leaders.

When the number of murders decrease, there are those who will be tempted to return to business as usual and wait for the next coming frenzy? This is near frightening as the current wave of violence.

This week all eyes turn to NFL, Swift and Trump THE TRIBUNE

IT was probably inevitable.

The three most important topics in America have now become intertwined as the country’s fourth most important day approaches. That would be the Super Bowl, which probably now ranks just behind Christmas, the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving.

These three vitally important topics are, in no particular order, the National Football League, Taylor Swift and Donald Trump.

The first two are foremost in everyone’s minds with the big game to be played Sunday in Las Vegas. But of course, Trump and the media believe he must be everywhere all the time, so we’ll get to him too.

First things first. Can Taylor manage to fit into her Eras tour schedule a side trip to see boyfriend Jason Kelce play in Super Bowl 58?

She is now in

Thursday, February 8, 2024, PAGE 11

STATESIDE with Charlie Harper

-- a full day before the game.

So no worries. Taylor Swift will be there. And she’ll have plenty of time before she needs to jet back to Australia for her next concert a week from tomorrow. She can party hearty after the Chiefs defend their current NFL title by beating San Francisco.

Her boyfriend Travis Kelce, by the way, is probably the best of a really strong group of stars currently playing tight end in the NFL. If the Chiefs win as is now widely expected on Sunday, Kelce will have just beaten his two closest rivals for the title of best current tight end – George Kittle of the 49ers and Mark Andrews of the Ravens.

San Francisco opened as a slight betTAYLOR SWIFT FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP ting favourite after the this week because his this week) is of more sigconference opposing quarterback, nificance to Americans. championship Goodell, who has the games nearly Brock Purdy of the 49ers, Far two weeks ago, but was the very last choice made his NFL owners (No. 262) in the 2022 East. oddsmakers draft out of Iowa State.

Here’s how it quickly The NFL’s decican happen. corsion to leave two Fourteen-time Grammy weeks between award winner Swift will its conference perform four shows at the championship Tokyo Dome in Japan on games and consecutive nights startthe Super ing last night and running Bowl allows through Saturday before the hype to she was originally schedbuild to a uled to jet to Australia fever pitch for shows starting next by gametime.

Friday.

TRAVIS KELCE That means According to numerous there’s plenty insider accounts, doors of time for will open at 4:00 pm local reporters to pick time for her last Tokyo at almost every concert Saturday, with the detail of the competshow starting at 6:00 pm rected ing teams and their stars.

She typically opens her that. And Purdy has been heavily set about two hours after while Kansas City’s win the scheduled start time. in Baltimore was a gritty scrutinized, but has held However, no opening acts war of attrition that up well. He is a player have been announced seems to have discour- who is not supremely talfor her Tokyo tour dates, aged bettors initially, the ented but manages to fit meaning she could strut Chiefs and quarterback himself very well into the on stage at 6:00 pm Patrick Mahomes never- complex game plans of his wizard-like head coach Her concerts last theless won the game. roughly three and a half Mahomes was the tenth Kyle Shanahan. The 49ers hours, so she would finish player selected in the have been a dominant dazzling her Japanese 2017 draft. The Chiefs team ever since Purdy audience around 9:30 pm, traded up with Buffalo to took over as their QB. But it would be a real Tokyo time. pick him. (The Bills chose If she leaves promptly their QB, Josh Allen, the surprise if San Francisco on Sunday. from the closest airport following year.) Among prevailed to the Tokyo Dome, she those players selected The Chiefs relied much could be airborne en before Mahomes were more on their defence route to see her sweetie in Cleveland Browns stud this year than previously, Las Vegas an hour later. pass rusher Myles Gar- and Mahomes, Kelce and That’s 10:30 pm in Tokyo. rett, Tampa Bay’s Super Company are still potent Swift reportedly has Bowl winning running on offense. Unless Kansas two multimillion-dollar back Leonard Fournette City makes too many private jets — a Dassault and 49ers running back costly errors, they should Falcon 7X and a Dassault Christian McCaffrey, who win and move Mahomes Falcon 900 — that were will oppose Mahomes on into a fourth-place tie for predominantly used Sunday and is a rival for all-time Super Bowl wins.

He would then be tied during the US leg of her the league’s MVP title.

Eras Tour.

So there were some with one current broadThe 7X model has a other future Hall of caster (Troy Aikman), longer range of 5,906 Famers in that draft. The just behind another one nautical miles, so Taylor only QB picked before (Terry Bradshaw), with figures to use that one. Mahomes was Mitchell all of them trailing yet a third one coming next The distance between Trubisky, now year (Tom Brady).

Tokyo’s Haneda Airport a disOnly Joe Montana and Las Vegas Internais missing from tional Airport, located this list, and he’s near Allegiant Stadium no stranger to where the Super Bowl TV ads. He is will be played, is 4,821 seen almost nautical miles. as often as Experts in the industry a television told reporters that the pitchman as trip from Haneda Airport is Mahomes to Harry Reid Internahimself. tional Airport should BROCK PURDY Speaking take about 10 1/2 hours of television, on her Falcon 7X. it’s reasonThat means Swift could able to wonder leave Japan at 10:30 pm which of the US and, because of the time president’s annual zone changes and crossState of the Union ing the International address (coming soon Date Line in the middle appointing of the Pacific Ocean, she back-up for his third NFL in early March) or NFL commissioner Roger could reasonably expect team. to arrive around 4:00 pm Mahomes’ draft posi- Goodell’s annual State of in Las Vegas on Saturday tion is much-discussed the NFL address (earlier

and himself very much wealthier in his 21 years as the league’s CEO (and 24 more as its counsel), smartly credited Taylor Swift with broadening his league’s already worldwide appeal.

“People are talking about the (Super Bowl) who weren’t interested yesterday,” he said. “She is welcome. Taylor is obviously a dynamo.

Everything she touches, there are many people following.”

Among those now following more closely are the wolves and hyenas of Trump world. That’s because Taylor Swift has revealed liberal proclivities and publicly supported Joe Biden four years ago.

“I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country,” she has written on social media.

“I believe that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG.” She added, “I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of colour is terrifying, sickening and prevalent.”

The world’s greatest pop star can also rock the political world, and she has done it in ways that scare a Republican Party that in recent decades has devoted itself to disenfranchising its putative

opposing voters. So when Taylor urged her fans on Instagram to register to vote last September, the media reported a surge of 35,000 registrations in response.

Time magazine made her Person of the Year this past December. The economic impact of her Eras tour on its host cities is phenomenal. Some are comparing her to Michael Jackson in terms of her cultural and financial impact worldwide.

The GOP is worried, and they should be. The party’s numerous surrogates and informal spokespersons have reacted in recent weeks.

“Does Taylor realize the guy that they want her to endorse (Biden) is a kind of stumbling, bumbling mess?” asked Sean Hannity smugly on his nightly Fox TV show.

Jesse Watters, the much less significant replacement for departed Fox ratings champion Tucker Carlson, suggested that now-billionaire Swift is actually a deep-state Defense Department asset engaging in psychological warfare.

Watters repeated a GOP trope by linking Swift’s liberal social and political views with her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s widely broadcast Pfizer endorsement of COVID vaccinations.

Trump has also piled on. But he might have met his match this time.