78-y E a R - O l D Cat i sla ND w O ma N

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Staff Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

AN OFFICER presented the knife suspected of being used in the 2021 Cat Island home invasion where a 78-year-old woman was allegedly attacked and raped, as the suspect stood trial on Friday.

Charles Lightbourne, 51, appeared before Justice Renae McKay on charges of rape, burglary, armed robbery and causing harm. Lightbourne allegedly broke into the elderly woman’s home in Cat Island at around 11pm on May 6, 2022. There he is said to have sexually assaulted the victim while armed with a knife. During this incident it is said he stole the victim’s $150 phone.

Following the attack a medical examiner noted that the victim had tenderness and evidence of bleeding in her vaginal area.

During his testimony Sgt Humphrey Bain detailed the defendant’s arrest for questioning at Smith’s Bay Dock at around 12.30pm on May 8 of that year.

After verbally identifying himself as an officer, Sgt Bain recalls Lightbourne asking him, “Sir, what I do?”

Upon a search of the defendant’s person Sgt Bain recovered a box cutter and a small silver coloured knife.

After these items were presented in court and entered into evidence, Lightbourne’s counsel pointed out that as the defendant worked on the dock it wasn’t uncommon for him to have those items on him.

During cross-examination SGT Bain said that he did not recall seeing blood on the defendant or on the items confiscated at the time of his arrest.

Detective Corporal Carlos Ingraham testified that he was the officer who took the suspect’s fingerprints and photographs at the CDU in Nassau on May 10, 2021.

When it came to sign the fingerprint sheet D/C Ingraham recalls that Lightbourne refused to do so and became hostile at that point.

After identifying the suspect in court in the prisoner’s box, the fingerprint sheet with Lightbourne’s name on it was officially shown and logged into evidence

The trial continues on June 4.

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By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

GRAND Bahama law enforcement officials arrested two men in Grand Bahama after the discovery of suspected marijuana.

A 61-year-old Freeport man and a 59-year-old male resident of Andros are in custody assisting police in their investigations.

Police reported that shortly before 3pm on Thursday, the Drug Enforcement Unit, Bahamas Customs, and the K9 unit conducted a joint operation that led to the discovery of drugs, and the arrests of two suspects.

Acting on a tip, officers went to the Freeport Harbour where the K-9 unit was deployed. During searches of the premises, the K-9 unit alerted officials to a box. A man was observed collecting the box and getting into a silver coloured Nissan van. The vehicle was then intercepted by law enforcement officials who retrieved the box, which contained 2.5 pounds of suspected marijuana, with an estimated street value of $2,500. Investigations are continuing into the matter.