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VOLUME:116 No.154, AUGUST 7TH, 2019

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ALICIA WALLACE: PLANNING FOR WHAT WE CAN’T AVOID

Compass Point owner warns govt to meet his demands

I’m serious - I’ll shut it for ever

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

COMPASS Point proprietor Leigh Rodney yesterday doubled down on his threat to make the historic resort disappear if the government does not take credible steps to improve the ease of doing business.

Mr Rodney told The Tribune he felt his demands were reasonable given the Free National Movement’s reform promises on the campaign trail.

He suggested the government has not acted in good faith on those promises, and further threatened the dismissal of the property’s 60 employees on or before the

next general election. “If we do not have legitimate discussion,” Mr Rodney said, “at very least to make some changes, legitimate changes, then Compass Point will start the process of disappearing on or before election day.

“Quite simply,” he continued, “I’m serious, if there is not at least legitimate consideration to making changes the business will be gone. Not sold to another sucker, but gone.”

Mr Rodney took out a full page advertisement in The Tribune on Tuesday detailing his anger over the perceived inaction by the FNM administration.

SEE PAGE THREE

DIONISIO HITS BACK: WE WON’T BE BULLIED

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

MINISTER of tourism and aviation Dionisio D’Aguilar yesterday said he will “not be bullied” by the Compass Point owner’s threat to close the resort and put 60 Bahamians out of work, blasting: “He’s completely out of line.”

Mr D’Aguilar said that Leigh Rodney needed to become “less

confrontational” and stop using his employees as bargaining chips and leverage in his dealings with the government.

He added that he did not necessarily consider Mr Rodney’s complaints over the hotel licensing process as “rationale”, and warned the US investor that as a non-Bahamian he “must remember he is a guest in this country”.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

COMPASS Point proprietor Leigh Rodney yesterday threatened to close the resort if the government does not take what he sees as credible steps to improve the ease of doing business.

BEATING CHARGE VICTIM WARNED TO ‘VERY CONCERNING’ CHANGE LIFESTYLE

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

AS HE pledged to make public the findings of an investigation into allegations of police brutality in Exuma, National Security Minister Marvin Dames said there will be no “coverup” if officers are found culpable of wrong doing.

He insisted there was evidence to confirm that in cases where officers are guilty of various offences, they are either charged in court or internally.

However, in instances where police conduct is called into question, the Royal Bahamas Police Force rarely reveals

RONALD Pierre remembers pleading with his younger brother to transform his life for himself and his young daughter.

Yesterday that brother, Carlos Frederick, 44, became the sixth person killed by police this year.

Numbed by the news when he first spoke to The Tribune, Mr Pierre said his family is struggling to piece together what happened.

In a statement, police said they were responding to reports of gunshots on Grant Hill Street in Fox Hill when they encountered a man who was acting

AALIYAH, left, and Dejah. investigation findings, despite persistent questions from the media.

The latest claims of police beatings came earlier this week from two women in Exuma. They allege the brutality was at the hands of one of the most senior officers on the island.

SEE PAGE FIVE

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

suspiciously shortly after 2am on Tuesday. They said when they approached the suspect the man produced a firearm and pointed it towards them, prompting a struggle.

Fearing for their lives, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said officers fired their weapon at the suspect. Paramedics later pronounced Frederick dead at the scene. Police said they recovered a black handgun.

Mr Pierre said he has heard competing narratives about what happened: some of his brother’s friends have told him Frederick had no gun while others told him SEE PAGE FIVE

PAGE 2, Wednesday, August 7, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

WE COULD HAVE BLACKOUTS UNTIL NOVEMBER, WARNS MAYNARD

By AVA TURNQUEST Tribune Chief Reporter aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

POWER blackouts could continue until November, warned Bahamas Electrical Workers Union president Paul Maynard yesterday. He told The Tribune the beleaguered electricity provider simply did not have the capacity to meet summer demands.

He also blasted the service provided by Aggreko for its rental units as unsatisfactory.

Mr Maynard explained BPL was down 60

megawatts with three major generation units offline.

One unit, GD 10, is expected back on tomorrow, and another - GD 7 - sometime next week.

However GD 5 will be out for at least two months, he said.

“Realistically if the weather changes in November we’ll be fine, but if we have a hot November then we going (to load shed) to the end of November.”

Frustrated consumers continued to lambast BPL on its Facebook page, taking issue with perceived “false updates” and “poor

public relations” yesterdaywhile mega hotel Atlantis says some of its equipment has been damaged by load shedding.

In response to The Tribune’s inquiry, Atlantis said: “We are working with BPL to relieve the lack of capacity. It has not been disruptive to our guests as they have been scheduled in advance for the most part. However, we have had damage to some of our equipment when the outages are not scheduled.”

For his part, Baha Mar VP Robert Sands said the

mega resort has established a good line of communication with BPL and works in tandem to ensure minimal disruption to guests.

At a press briefing yesterday, Progressive Liberal Party leader Philip Davis underscored plummeting consumer confidence and mounting business losses.

“With public outcry, criticism and complaints against the Bahamas Power and Light intensifying in the wake of daily load shedding and power outages, the government must say with certainty when the load shedding will end as

symptomatic of the incompetence of this government in the handling of any number of policy issues including immigration, VAT hike, Oban, the collapse of BTC, the government’s labour and employment policies, its contract administration and the transfer of the post office to the Town Centre Mall.”

Mr Davis added: “They have managed to create one crisis after another or exacerbate routine management issues into crises through glaring incompetence, arrogance, ignorance or indifference.”

PAUL MAYNARD consumer confidence is at an all time low and business losses continue to mount,” Mr Davis said.

“This latest episode involving BPL is

Davis claims a ‘constitutional crisis’ over Town Centre Mall

By MORGAN ADDERLEY Tribune Staff Reporter madderley@tribunemedia.net OPPOSITION Leader Philip “Brave” Davis said yesterday Friday’s broken valve incident at the General Post Office illustrates the fact that renovations done to Town Centre Mall to accommodate the facility were not done in accordance with “acceptable international standards for postal services”.

Mr Davis also contended the contradiction between the House of Assembly resolution regarding the lease of TCM for the post office and former Cabinet minister Brent Symonette’s admission that Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis called him personally to negotiate the deal represents a “constitutional crisis”.

On Friday, Transport Minister Renward Wells said operations at the General Post Office continued with minimal impact after a broken valve caused mail and employees to be showered with water.

Mr Davis referred to this incident as an “embarrassing debacle”.

“Apparently that early morning call between the owner Brent Symonette, then a Cabinet minister and the prime minister and the subsequent dishonest House resolution led to shoddy workmanship, negligence and short cuts which caused the incident,” he said.

“Moreover, the incompetence of the FNM government has not only created an unsafe workplace, compromising the health, safety and wellbeing of scores of workers, but the controversial House resolution is likely to create a constitutional crisis, subject to a credible legal challenge.”

When asked if the Official Opposition has any concerns about how the General Post Office will operate, Mr Davis said “certainly”.

THE PLP on its surprise tour of the Town Centre Mall post office back in March.

He said information coming to the party shows the renovations done to the facility to accommodate the post office were not done “in accordance with acceptable international standards for postal services.”

He also said: “And that that may have happened because of the manner in which the works are being executed because of the incompetence and the rush to respond to the public outcry about them leasing the Town Centre Mall in the first place.

“And so we are concerned about the safety and security of workers at the Town Centre Mall. We’ve always been concerned about the structural integrity of the Town Centre

Mall and we continue to be.”

Last week, Dr Minnis welcomed the Official Opposition’s pledge to move a no-confidence motion against him in the House of Assembly but sidestepped questions about the TCM lease.

He did not directly answer questions about Mr Symonette’s claim that the pair discussed mall lease details before the parliamentary resolution permitting the lease was passed. Critics, including former Attorney General Alfred Sears, QC, believe Mr Symonette’s revelation calls into question the legitimacy of the resolution.

Yesterday Mr Davis said, in accordance with

Westminster conventions, after the “lies were exposed” the Minnis administration should have “immediately” stepped down or called an election.

“The House resolution meant to absolve Mr Symonette of any wrongdoing contradicted Mr Symonette’s account of the process, effectively creating a constitutional crisis for the government,” he said.

When asked to clarify these remarks, Mr Davis pointed to the Westminster system.

“There’s a Westminster protocol and convention that particularly members of Cabinet ought not mislead - and that’s one way, because you can mislead without lying in some way,

you just fudge the truth or lie to parliament.

“Because once that is done, you’re no longer honourable and you need to be stepping down. “. . .There’s several missteps in this. And therefore the missteps are as such that we need

to call an election and we want you to repose confidence back in us. It becomes a constitutional issue because they remain in office with this pall of immorality hanging over their head, having (misled) Parliament and to the Bahamian people.”

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 7, 2019, PAGE 3

THE COMPASS Point resort and, inset, the advert in yesterday’s Tribune.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

Compass Point owner warns govt to meet his demands or he’ll close from page one

Mr Rodney purchased Compass Point as part of a four-member consortium after it was shuttered from severe hurricane damage in 2004. The other partners in the ownership group include Bahamian lawyer Paul King, of King & Co, Gilles Trahn and Martin “Skip” Scully. Mr King yesterday deferred comment to Mr Rodney.

The ad details an appeal for the establishment of a small group to compile recommendations for amendments to existing laws and regulations, with the inclusion of Mr Rodney

as a participant alongside a government representative as its chair.

“The FNM administration promised voters that it would be the leaders that made all changes possible to make it easier to run a business in the Bahamas.

The Compass Point owner believed that promise,” the advertisement said.

“For the two years the FNM has been in power, the Compass Point owner has made what he thinks is a simple request.”

It continued: “If the leadership of this country resorts to publicly distorting this request into derogatory statements, the owner of CP will not respond. The

CP owner is not interested in making this a public spectacle, he is not running for office.

“He simply wants to make some positive changes that will benefit everyone in the Bahamas.”

Yesterday, Mr Rodney told The Tribune he explained his motivation for the potential shuttering with staff three weeks ago.

“There’s a lot of improvement that can be done,” Mr Rodney continued, “with how regulations can be done.”

The resort and its restaurant gained notoriety through the Compass Point Recording Studios, which has hosted such talents as

THREE MEN FOUND SAFE AFTER VANISHING AT SEA

By RIEL MAJOR Tribune Staff Reporter rmajor@tribunemedia.net

THREE Bahamian men who vanished at sea were found safe just five miles north of Andros on Saturday.

In a statement, Unites States Coast Guard confirmed the three men had safely arrived on land.

“The Coast Guard ended its search for three overdue boaters aboard a 21-foot white cabin cruiser who were on their way from Sugarloaf Key, Florida to Nassau, Bahamas after they reported that they were safe and reached The Bahamas, Saturday,” the statement read.

“The boaters reported that their vessel became disabled approximately five miles north of Andros Island, Bahamas and a Good Samaritan towed them to Red Bay, Bahamas.

The Coast Guard searched 21,726 square nautical miles for 90 hours.”

The US Coast Guard advised boaters to be prepared when going out to sea, specifically for long voyages.

The statement read: “A VHF-radio, extra food and water, life jackets and flares are just a few of the things that can keep you prepared while you’re out on the water.

“Filing a float plan is also key before you head out.

It’s as easy as telling family and friends where you’re going to, coming from and for how long so they have all the important information if they need to make the call for help.”

The men were identified as Gralin Moxey, Jason Cooper and Trevor Adderley.

On Facebook, Jaime Moxey, a relative of one of the men, expressed his

gratitude in a post to everyone who aided in the safe return of his loved one.

“Thank you all for help sharing, spreading the word and keeping an eye out for my family and Jason Cooper,” he wrote. “Thank you all that went in aircraft and in boats to help search. The United States Coast Guard, BASRA, the Bahamas Defence Force and all (who) aided in helping to locate my family, thank you! Thank you all for all for the prayers and encouragement.

“Special thanks to the boat man that provided fuel and for the other vessel that towed them into Red Bay, Andros.”

Lenny Kravitz, Celene Dion, Bob Marley, the Rolling Stones and Jimmy Buffet.

Mr Rodney is the president of Detroit Forming Inc, a family owned business that designs and manufactures rigid plastic packaging. He told Tribune Business, shortly after acquiring the Compass Point property in 2006, that he had been visiting The Bahamas for 20-30 years, visiting once a year since the 1970s.

Mr Rodney was accused of racial discrimination nearly two decades ago by a black warehouse worker at the Detroit-based factory.

Former employee Darryl Hall testified that Mr

Rodney told workers at a shift meeting they could “go back and pick cotton” if they didn’t like the way he ran the company.

The Michigan Court of Appeals felt the evidence was compelling enough to send the case to trial; however, Mr Rodney said the claims levelled by a former friend were ultimately dropped. Mr Hall also claimed Mr Rodney said his dog had been trained to bite black men.

Yesterday, Mr Rodney explained to The Tribune that he was being sarcastic at the time, and making a joke that referred to the racist generalisation that black people were more afraid of

dogs than white people. He noted it was a phenomenon commonly discussed in the Bahamas, and widely held to be true. However, it was poorly received and used as evidence to bolster Mr Hall’s claim he was denied a promotion due to his skin colour.

“I thought he was my friend,” Mr Rodney said.

“I had worked with him for some 15 years, we loaded trucks together. He was being recommended to me for termination for doing a poor job. I was trying to meet with him to discuss how severe the claims against him were.”

Editorial View - Page 4

PAGE 4, Wednesday, August 7, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

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

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

SIR ETIENNE DUPUCH,

jamaaltheartist@gmail.com

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914 Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991

EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON,

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

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Show a little respect, Mr Rodney DO IT my way or I’ll close my resort.

That was the uncompromising threat from Compass Point owner Leigh Rodney in an advertisement in Tuesday’s Tribune – and he’s not backing down.

In today’s Tribune, he says that the FNM promised to make it easier to run a business in The Bahamas – and he says if they don’t live up to that promise, then he’s off.

He says he’ll close down Compass Point, never mind the 60 Bahamians working there.

It’s fair to say he hasn’t received a lot of sympathy since his demand. Some Bahamians have said if he doesn’t want to support Bahamians, well they don’t want to support his business – a pledge that won’t do anything to help the workers whose jobs are threatened either.

Others have wanted to know why a guest to these shores feels he can push the government around. Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar is in no mood for Mr Rodney’s demands either, saying the government will “not be bullied”.

Mr Rodney seems an uncompromising type. Nearly two decades ago, he was accused of racial discrimination by a worker at his Detroit factory, who testified that he told workers that if they didn’t like how he ran the company, they could “go back and pick cotton”. The same worker also said Mr Rodney said his dog had been trained to bite black

men. Mr Rodney tried to brush that off as a joke yesterday – we doubt many readers will find it funny.

One of Mr Rodney’s demands is for a group to be set up to recommend changes to laws and regulations – with Mr Rodney a member of the group. We presume he shows as much respect for the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce – established for more than 80 years and offering advice on a regular basis to government - as he does for the rest of The Bahamas.

There are absolutely ways in which The Bahamas can better serve business – but the way to achieve that is dialogue, not threats. Another of his demands is for the hotel licencing process to be scrapped – he thinks it is unnecessary, despite Mr D’Aguilar saying his is a lone voice of protest.

Of course, in the end, it is his business and he’s entitled to close it if he wants. We feel desperately sorry for the workers caught in the crossfire – they certainly deserve better than to be in the middle of this.

But if the government rolls over for every business owner who threatens to shut down if they don’t get what they want, then we might as well not have laws at all.

Perhaps Mr Rodney can find a better way to address his concerns – and if not, well, as Mr D’Aguilar says, “let the chips fall where they fall”.

WE have criticised Minister of National Security Marvin Dames in the past for perhaps not approaching allegations of police brutality as seriously as they deserve. We would like then to applaud him today for saying the right things in regard to the latest allegations.

Two women in Exuma claimed they were subjected to beatings at the hands of one of the most senior officers on the island on Sunday. Pictures of Dejah Laing, 19, showing blood streaming from her gashed eyelid, were shared on social media by people shocked by the images. Ms Laing and her cousin Aaliyah Bain were both punched repeatedly in the face by the officer, they claim.

Mr Dames, in response, has said there will be no cover-up and that the incident is “very concerning”.

“No one is above the law”, he insisted yesterday, while saying investigators had been sent to Exuma to probe the incident.

We hope that no one is indeed above the law – and that this will be the tone for all such incidents. Too many times we have had to write in this column about allegations of police brutality. Too many times we have seen feet being dragged in the investigation – such as the three people in Eleuthera who claimed they were tortured by police last year, only to be told by police that the time had expired for their matter to be addressed by the force, even though they complained promptly.

We applaud Mr Dames for saying the right things in this case. We sincerely hope the action will live up to the words.

We will be watching.

Praise for Marvin Dames

Pleased to see Montagu Park has smartened up EDITOR, The Tribune MANY thanks to Bahamas Public Parks and Beaches Authority chairman Shanendon Cartwright and the hardworking staff for their prompt response to letters complaining about the unsightly, oversized READERS have been posting their views on the stories making the news this week.

After FNM Pineridge Constituency Association chairman Vernet Munnings said she wants MP Frederick McAlpine to resign from the party, John asked: “Wouldn’t forcing McAlpine to resign from the FNM show reasons for a vote of no confidence in Minnis?”

Moncurcool posted this: “It is sad that we still in the country cannot respect a person for speaking their independent thoughts.

We want people to just be mere reflectors of other men’s thoughts, than critical thinkers. Democracy means that McAlpine can be a part of a party and criticise it if he thinks

billboards at Montagu Park. Most of the signs have been removed and it’s hoped BAMSI will remove the one still standing.

People will pay a million dollars for property with a waterfront view. It truly boggles the mind that so many thoughtless persons

something is not right.

Sadly, people confuse uniformity for unity. So if you only speak what the rest of the party wants they class that as unity, when it is just uniformity. We need to become better in our country, and realise that just because a person may disagree on some things, does not mean that we cannot still work together.”

BPL’s load shedding exercises continued throughout New Providence over the holiday weekend, prompting this

would plant these ugly signs, blotting out the magnificent seascape and cheapening a recreational area that hosts the national monument of Fort Montagu.

ATHENA DAMIANOS Nassau August 6, 2019 from DDK: “BEC aka BPL is a Bahamas Government disaster and has been for years, is it 46? Parliamentarians’ salaries AND all perks should be withheld until ALL utility corporations function properly.

Eliminating the unions which encourage greed and non-performance would be a step in the right direction.”

And in The Tribune’s online poll we asked readers if they thought the PLP had chosen the right team to lead them into the next election.

At the time of going to press, 86 percent thought the party had not chosen the right team.

Don’t miss your chance to join the debate on tribune242.com.

Duty free shopping a shocker EDITOR, The Tribune

IT’S A ritual for some of us to get off the island to visit family and friends abroad. A part of the routine is to pick up a few bottles of rum or some such other inebriant to take along as a gift.

Who would imagine that the absolute worst place to buy liquor or any other domestic souvenir, trinket or T-shirt would be the inaptly named duty-free stores in the airport?

As we struggle to come to terms with what a Value Added Tax is and is not, we have inadvertently allowed some gaping holes to go unnoticed.

Around the world, VAT is a tax on domestic consumption and services.

Implicit in the principle of VAT is that it does not apply to any goods or service that is exported. It would equate to a government taxing beyond its borders, something no government currently has the authority to do.

Yet we do it daily at Nassau International Airport.

After you navigate the long lines at security and give up your fingerprints to US Border agents, you customarily get a cheery “Welcome to the United States” from the officer who invites you to proceed upstairs into the appropriately named United States Pre-Clearance Lounge.

There US laws apply, albeit the Americans will invite local law enforcement to effect your arrest.

If you are a big-league criminal suspect, they call ahead and have US law enforcement waiting to arrest you on the mainland.

But for all intents and purposes, the Pre-Clearance lounge signifies you are in the United States.

And so, therefore, by what authority do the merchants selling to this select group of customers, get to charge VAT on purchases that are whisked out of the

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net country mere minutes after the sale?

Venture into the liquor store there and you are shown the VAT price for the merchandise. Venture over to another store to buy tinned cakes and, lo and behold, VAT applies there too.

It is laudable that the airport has made space for local artists to sell their craft in the lounge, but they too are handicapped by the fact that they must collect VAT. The owner of one such stall said she was instructed by the airport authority that they must collect and remit VAT on everything they bring into the area.

One would be hard pressed to find another international airport where this is the case. There are US pre-clearance facilities in Canada, Aruba, Bermuda, Ireland and Abu Dhabi and none of those merchants charge VAT or any tax on purchases made by departing passengers.

In some airports, particularly in Europe, merchants demand to see a boarding pass because while international flights are tax exempt, flights within the UK or Europe carry the tax.

Other merchants ask for information on the boarding pass, mainly to see which flights spend the most money on which items so that they can accordingly keep the shelves stocked.

At the airport in Panama, Brazilians buy so much taxfree liquor to take home (where the taxes are high) that the stores keep themselves well supplied around those departure times.

Until such time as NAD ends the farce of co-mingling passengers departing to Canada, Europe, the UK, Jamaica and Turks and Caicos with those departing

for the Family Islands, we will have to accept that taxexempt purchases made on the non-US side of the airport will need more vigilant scrutiny by merchants to ensure that booze purchased for the flight to Exuma pays VAT, while liquor bought for the flight to Toronto is exempt.

Create a true domestic terminal and this problem evaporates. It’s long past time that NAD does this.

What’s egregious about charging VAT in the US Pre-Clearance area is the fact that everyone in that lounge is leaving the Bahamas. No need for document checks on the part of merchants.

The merchants themselves should be the ones making the most noise to get the VAT burden removed at the airport. But we are docile when it comes to challenging authority but display plenty hard-mouth when nobody in authority is listening.

Why didn’t they push back at the silly advice from the airport and why didn’t NAD fight like hell with Inland Revenue to point out this obvious flaw in the VAT regulations?

It is clearly spelled-out on page 28 of the government’s VAT guidance circular, available online. They say anything exported from the Bahamas is zero rated for VAT. That’s civil-servicespeak for VAT exempt.

Unless and until the VAT charge is removed at the airport then we should vote with our feet and decline to spend those couple dollars at home.

After all, a bottle of Bahamian rum is cheaper in Miami (without VAT but with Florida sales tax) than it is at Nassau airport. Somebody obviously figured out that you can’t charge VAT on exports.

Now will they please tell NAD! THE GRADUATE Nassau August 5, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 7, 2019, PAGE 5

‘I pleaded with brother to change his lifestyle’ from page one his brother had a weapon but did not draw it and aim it at officers. He said he was told officers fired eight shots. Frederick, he said, was struck in his head.

“I spoke to a police officer at a station in Fox Hill, they say they have no information to share with us,” he added.

One man who identified himself as “Keiddy” said he was present at the scene

when the incident occurred.

He told The Tribune Frederick––also known as “Yam”––indeed had a gun.

“He hangs out on the blocks and sells his five dollar nickel bags,” he said. “He had a gun on him for true. They say at night guys might come for them so they carry guns for their protection. I’ve seen him with the gun and he always does have it when night comes. The police pull up on him. He got catch fair and square.

They saw the gun and they told him ‘stop.’ But he was trying to just get a little bit away from them because he know they would run after him. One officer said, ‘Sarge that’s (a) gun, gun fire?’ And the (sergeant) said ‘submit, submit’ but he didn’t submit and sarge said ‘fire.’”

The entire encounter, Keiddy said, happened in about ten seconds.

“He would never shoot at the police,” he added.

“He didn’t aim it at them.

He was trying to get away.

But he capable of shooting someone else with that gun.

He’s a bad boy and to me the police did good.”

Frederick’s father, Camelus Frederick, said his son’s daughter is now seven; his other child, a 19-yearold youth was killed in the United States several years ago.

Mr Pierre said his brother performed landscaping services throughout the Village Road and Bernard Road areas. His

brother could be a “good boy or a bad boy” depending on his mood and the circumstance, he said, adding that Frederick had served time in prison before.

“I don’t want say ‘aw he was a good guy,’ I don’t want to say that,” he said.

“I want to tell you the truth.

Sometimes he was quiet, sometimes, boy, I could tell you he had a bad side. He had the two sides. But since he lost his first son, I spoke to him and gave him advice, I say ‘if people think you

are a bad boy, you have to become a good boy because you’ve lost your first son.’

That’s why I told him, stay from the troubles. I told him you have to find something to do. At one point he was doing something at Baha Mar. Sometimes he went to Abaco to do construction. When you have kids, if something happen to you before, you ain’ suppose to let the kids hear about that and continue to do that. I told him, you have to change your life.”

LEFT: Aaliyah Bain and Dejah Laing; above: Samuel Humes; right: Dejah Laing with the injuries she says were caused by a police officer,

Beating charges are very concerning, says Dames from page one This incident, Mr Dames said, is “very concerning”.

“We are where we are and we’ll continue to look at how we could improve the process and you can see when police officers or law enforcement officers do wrong the evidence is there to show,” Mr Dames said. “Then those persons are dealt with whether it’s before the courts or whether it’s done internally.

“The matter over the weekend is very concerning to me. I had the opportunity to speak to the commissioner as well as to see some of the social media postings of that. The commissioner moved very quickly.

“A team was dispatched to the island of Exuma and commenced investigations almost immediately and so we will see very shortly the end results of those investigations.”

He continued: “We’re not here to cover up for anybody and that will not be accepted, not in this force.

Police officers, law enforcement officers have taken an oath to protect the citizens of this country and those who visit and we expect that they live up to that oath.

“No one is above the law whether you are in uniform or whether you are in public life. Nobody is above the law and where it is found out at the end of the day that persons whether they are law enforcement officers or public officials are in breach of the law, they will be treated like anyone else and I can assure you of that.”

Mr Dames said while the vast majority of officers are law-abiding citizens, the RBPF has no reservations with ensuring those who abuse authority are held accountable.

“Again we have had officers who were placed before the courts. We would have

had officers who we would have placed before an internal tribunal and fired and in some instances demoted.

It all depends on the evidence and if the matter is egregious enough then one would expect that that person or that officer would be placed before the courts.

“So again the commissioner and I would have spoken to this matter at length over the weekend and he and his officers are taking this very seriously.

We will ensure that at the end of the day that justice prevails and so we all will be watching to see.”

Images of blood streaming from the gashed eyelid of one of the women who claim police abused her,

MARVIN DAMES Dejah Laing, 19, were shared hundreds of times on social media over the weekend, attracting the anger of horrified users. The women and their families are now demanding that the officer responsible be fired.

Ms Laing, mother of an 18-month-old baby, was

travelling home from the Rolleville Homecoming Festival & Regatta around 4.30 on Sunday morning along with her two cousins, Aaliyah Bain, 20, and Samuel Humes, 26, when their day took a turn for the worst.

Mr Humes, the driver, said he was about to be ticketed when he told the senior officer his two cousins were in the car.

The women said they were initially taken to a police station cell, then to the clinic and then back to the station where they were interviewed, processed and allowed to leave without charge.

The trio were recently hired at Sandals Resort in

Exuma and they fear the incident has disrupted their lives so much that they could lose their jobs.

These new allegations have revived questions of whether the government has prioritised the implementation of body cameras for police.

Mr Dames said a contract for the equipment was expected to be signed next month.

“We’re on schedule. Cabinet would have approved the body cams. We have funding for the body cams.

We’re in the process now of finalising the contracts between the parties - that

is the government and the vendor. “. . .I’m hoping that sometime next month we should be signing off on that.

“The other contracts, I think the dates have already been set for the CCTV contract and the Marco’s Alert contracts. We are now satisfied with where we are with the contracts - all parties have accepted the contracts to date and it’s just a matter of signing and I think the signing date for both the CCTV and the body cams have been set and we’re working.”

Editorial View - Page 4

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PAGE 6, Wednesday, August 7, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

HONOUR FOR CB MOSS

A LEADING pastor has been honoured in a ceremony at Government House. Rev CB Moss received the 2019 Eagle Laureate of the RE Cooper Sr National Meritorious Service Award during a ceremony last month. Pictured from left are Reuben Cooper Jr, son of the late Rev RE Cooper Sr; Governor General CA Smith and Rev Moss accepting his award.

McAlpine row ‘will not hurt FNM party’

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net DEPUTY Prime Peter Turnquest said public pushback regarding the representation of Pineridge MP Frederick McAlpine would not hurt the Free National Movement, but show it is a “democratic” party.

As he expressed confidence in the FNM’s internal procedures yesterday, Mr Turnquest, who is FNM deputy leader, said

ultimately it is the constituents who will have the final say.

This comes as the chairwoman of the FNM’s Pineridge Constituency Association has publicly stated her desire to see Mr McAlpine resign from the party.

Mr McAlpine has been an outspoken critic of the Minnis administration and said last week he would not vote to support Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis in a vote of no-confidence the Official Opposition

has pledged to bring to the House of Assembly. He said he would abstain instead.

“The party has a constitution, which we are governed by,” Mr Turnquest said outside Cabinet yesterday when asked by reporters about the issue. “The constituency has made their views known and of course they have a right to do that.

“There are procedures of which they would follow if they are serious about calling for the member of Parliament to resign from the party and then there is a

process that the party goes through to decide whether they will act on that recommendation from the constituency and the process goes from there.

“I think this makes us stronger as a matter of fact, we are a democratic organisation.

“The constituents are the ultimate deciders of who represents them and who they want to represent them and that process works its way up through the party and again we are committed to democracy and

ensuring that the person that is selected in any constituency to represent the people actually does represent the people. This is just part of the process.”

According to Vernet Munnings, Pineridge Association chairperson, Mr McAlpine “definitely should resign”.

“That would be in the best interest of the people of the constituency,” she told The Tribune.

“We don’t think he would be offered the nomination again. In the House of Assembly, all you hear from him is bashing of the party. Would you expect for people to want that person to represent them? I don’t think so. I have no idea what he is holding out for now.

He needs to decide what he wants because right now we don’t understand it and he doesn’t understand it.”

Earlier this year the Pineridge Constituency Association moved to remove its executives, a group of people said to be mostly loyal to the MP. The association held new elections last month and Ms Munnings was among those elected.

“We don’t hear or see anything from the member of Parliament,” she said.

“Only time we hear from him is when someone calls and tell us he’s on social media. As it stands now, it’s as if we don’t have an MP.”

MP Frederick McAlpine FNM chairman Carl Culmer said the party has not received a formal request from the Pineridge Constituency Association to remove Mr McAlpine from the FNM. “Until the association comes to the party, there’s nothing we can do,” he said.

“He’s the MP for the area and until we or he makes a move, there’s nothing that we can do. Like any other complaint, we would have to take it to the executive body of the party who would then investigate the complaint and then it would go to the council for their decision.”

Mr McAlpine defended his performance in the constituency on Monday, citing his work, including recently giving money to students who received the highest GPAs at Sir Jack Hayward, St Georges and Tabernacle Baptist schools.

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THE TRIBUNE

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Deputy Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net DEPUTY Prime Minister Peter Turnquest said while the country remains plagued by “unacceptable” levels of crime and violence, people need to find better ways to resolve conflicts. He said although major crime categories have been trending downward, a life lost to senseless violence is one too many.

Mr Turnquest was offering condolences to his Cabinet colleague, Transport and Local Government Minister Renward Wells, whose brother Cabrio Wells was shot multiple times and killed outside his home on Roland Street, Ridgeland Park early Sunday morning.

He was one of two men killed in separate incidents that day. Another man was found dead off Blue Hill Road with apparent gunshot wounds early yesterday morning.

Asked about crime numbers, National Security Minister Marvin Dames said he was confident in the police force’s ability to keep levels down, adding there is no country in the world that could boast of a murder rate of zero.

Mr Turnquest said: “Certainly we want to, in the first instance express our condolences to Minister Wells and to his (brother’s) mother who as indicated in the papers today, lost her baby son. No matter what the circumstances are we understand the love between a mother and her child and we certainly feel for her and that loss today.

“Again, we have an unacceptable level of crime and violence in this country.

Though the trend has been coming down, as long as there is one person who is

Wednesday, August 7, 2019, PAGE 7

Turnquest: We need to find better ways to resolve conflicts

losing their life to senseless violence it’s one too many and so we certainly grieve with this family and we encourage the general population to try to find conflict resolution alternatives.”

He also said: “There are other ways to do this and if you cannot resolve it amongst yourselves there are other people who are willing to help, just reach out. There are a number of organisations that are geared towards conflict resolution and helping you to work through whatever the challenges are.”

He added: “I want to encourage people to seek help. There is nothing wrong.

It doesn’t make you a weak person to go and talk to a pastor or talk to a counsellor about what is bothering you, about what your challenges are and seek help from the various government agencies and the private sector agencies that exist to help people to resolve and deal with their issues.”

For his part, Mr Dames said the lull in murders before the most recent killings should also be considered. “…These are the challenges that we’ll have to deal with from time to time.

We clearly understand that

POLICE FIND BODY AS MURDER COUNT GOES UP TO 55

By RIEL MAJOR Tribune Staff Reporter rmajor@tribunemedia.net

POLICE found a man’s lifeless body outside of a building with gunshot wounds early yesterday morning.

According to reports, shortly after 1am, police discovered a man outside of a building on Bahama Avenue off Blue Hill Road with gunshot injuries.

Paramedics were called and attempted to revive the man, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to The Tribune’s records, this incident pushes the murder count to 55 for the year. This came after two men, one of them the brother of Transport Minister Renward Wells, were shot dead in separate incidents hours apart on Sunday while another man died in hospital as a result of a shooting in Grand Bahama on July 7 .

With more than 50 murders for the year, local religious leader Bishop Simeon Hall has urged Bahamians not to be “numb” to murders or accept it as “the new normal”.

The prominent pastor made the call in a press statement in which he said the news of the assault and murder of another person has lost the shock

and dismay it caused a few decades ago.

The statement read: “Civilised and well-thinking Bahamians and residents must continue to believe and work for all that can be done to rediscover the beautiful community we once enjoyed - where life was seen as precious from the womb to the grave.

“More than 50 lives have been ended senselessly this year by this demonic culture of murder. The good work of the police notwithstanding, some Bahamians embrace a romance with violence which continues to end in young black men and women being mowed down like animals.”

The statement added: “A demonic culture of deadly violence increases not merely because some are set on criminality, but because of the comfortable, so-called ‘good people’ who remain passively silent or are complicit in criminal activities.”

Bishop Hall said politicians, preachers and appointed public officials who engage in asinine diatribe must be told that they fan the flame of violence, sometimes unwittingly.

“Ignorance leads to fear.

Fear leads to hate. And hate is so insidious, that all it lacks is the opportunity to kill.”

MAN SHOT IN JULY DIES MONTH LATER

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A MAN who was shot on July 7 died in hospital yesterday morning in Grand Bahama, police reported.

Assistant Superintendent of Police Terecita Pinder reported the victim died around 9.25am at the Rand Memorial Hospital.

The deceased was one of two men shot during the incident last month.

According to previous reports, police were called shortly after 4am to a business on East Sunrise Highway where a gunman had opened fire hitting two males.

One man sustained injuries to the upper body and the other to the lower body.

They were both transported to hospital, where they were previously listed in serious condition.

Police have not released the deceased’s identity.

PETER Turnquest said the country remains plagued by “unacceptable” levels of crime and violence.

but I have every confidence that the police are on top of things and the numbers certainly to date will reflect that and if we continue on this trend we will have yet another record-breaking year in respect to overall crime and murders.

“I had an opportunity to speak to my colleague and to offer my condolences but whether it’s a Cabinet minister or anybody else there is no difference. I mean murder affects us all, crime affects us all and we all have a vested responsibility to ensure that we do our respective parts to continue to bring the level to crime in this country down.”

On Monday Anna Glinton, the dead man’s mother told The Tribune that while her son Cabrio Wells had his “ups and downs” with the law, she doesn’t know “what went wrong” for someone to shoot him to death. She said he had since “turned his life around” after serving a stint in prison.

Ms Glinton added that while she was “somewhat” surprised at the news that her son was killed, she insisted he was not a bully, but rather a “cool guy” who would only display aggression if provoked.

PAGE 8, Wednesday, August 7, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

W We all need a plan for

E are ageing, living longer and it is does not seem like we realise it. We know, intellectually, that youth does not last for ever. We do not, however, appear to understand that ageing comes with changes to the body and mind that we may be able to delay, but may not be able to completely avoid.

Good genes, workout routines, excellent diets and commitment to spiritual practices will only take us so far. We are living longer, but we are doing little to change the world we live in which does not automatically adapt to suit the needs of its ageing population.

It feels like breaking a rule that protects the silence around issues of ageing, declining health and death, but it is important to find out what those older than us would like to happen in certain circumstances. I would definitely like to be able to plainly state my own wishes without being shushed for fear I will call bad luck to myself. The people responsible for raising me are all over the age of 45. Most of them are over the age of 60. Some of them have had to, after raising their own children and helping with others, care for their elders.

a time we can’t avoid The

Alicia Wallace

column

Pause to consider the future that likely awaits you. Do you feel prepared to make decisions for your loved ones? Are you okay with guessing? Do you know how the bills will be paid?

Pensions do not leave enough money to take care of expected expenses and cover care workers.

Two pensions do not cut it either. Many people, senior citizens themselves, are left with no choice but to become caregivers.

Some, of course, would always choose to care

for their loved ones, but money, time and ability are also determinants. It may seem morbid to think about end of life care, but this is a reality we need to face as more of us boast of having grandparents and great-grandparents nearing 100 years of age - and fully expect to get close to becoming centenarians ourselves.

Someone once told me taking care of a parent or grandparent is a privilege.

I thought that was a very nice way to think of it, but the sentiment missed the

reality of the general confusion about what to do when someone has never expressed their wishes.

How do you know if they want to be in their home, someone else’s home, or an institution? We all know of older people refusing to leave their homes, even when we insist it is safer for them to be somewhere else, just for a little while. We think we know what would be most comfortable for them now, but they often disagree. How can we be certain that we can make decisions they would appreciate if we do not ask now?

What do you think would be most comfortable for you? If you are hospitalised, how long is too long for your family to wait for your condition to improve? Which child or sibling would you prefer to take care of you? Does that person have the resources to do it? The temperament?

Would you like to have an open-door policy for

visitors? Have you ever had this kind of conversation with anyone in your life?

Generally speaking, people do not seem particularly interested in this conversation. It is important to note the content of this kind of conversation is dependent on the resources available to the people involved. I have not found a single person with a plan for the unexpected turn in health or inability to care for themselves. It is not something we have been encouraged to think about.

Many would have us believe that we are calling ill fate upon ourselves by thinking about and planning for the possibility. We are supposed to hope for the best. Eating kale, praying and walking

by Baha Mar can only guarantee us so much, and we need to face that, as individuals, families and friends.

Not only are we ill-prepared and our loved ones left clueless and without resources, but we are stuck

in a system and society that refuses to acknowledge difference. Just look at our response, at the national level, to the passing of the Disabilities Act. How many buildings have made the necessary changes to ensure differently-abled people have access? How many times have you watched the news and seen sign language? Are there designated parking spots for differently-abled people at the places you frequent, from banks and utility companies to grocery stores and schools?

Are they being used properly? There are some challenges shared by differently-abled people and elderly people, so the way we respond to their needs closely mirrors the way we regard the other. It may not be today or tomorrow that this becomes relevant to our own lives, but as our elders often remind us, “Ya ain’ pass nuttin ‘til ya dead.”

Toni Morrison, the reason many fell in love with the written word TONI Morrison in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York in 1994. The Nobel Prize-winning author has died, aged 88.

TONI Morrison, author of Beloved, The Bluest Eye, Sula and numerous other books died yesterday.

There has been an outpouring of love and gratitude for Morrison and her work.

She started by writing the book she wanted to read, showing us better than she could tell us how to fill in the gaps we see. She was the reason many have fallen in love with the written word. She was fearless in her writing and speech, unafraid to touch complex issues like race. Peppered throughout the expressions of grief were a few posts acknowledging that Morrison got her flowers while she was here.

As National Heroes Day approaches, let’s take some time to celebrate the

people who are still here.

There are people still with us who have helped to shape us and the world we know. These people have poured into us, directly and indirectly and some of their names are not known to the masses. Even when they are gone, even if they are forgotten, they will leave a little bit of themselves behind in the work they have done. Their names may not roll off our tongues with the same ease as those matching the faces printed on our money. The average Bahamian may not be able to pick them out of a crowd.

This makes them no less deserving of recognition and it may be worth more to them when it comes directly from you.

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS ADVOCACY EQUALITY Bahamas has been hosting the Women’s Wednesdays monthly event series for two years with the support of the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas.

It has been a space to explore a broad range of topics including financial management, building healthy relationships and women’s rights advocacy.

This evening, the focus will be on women in the arts. Young Bahamian

artists June Collie, Jalan Harris, Jodi Minnis, Xan Xi Sweeting and Angelika Wallace-Whitfield will talk about their experiences as women in the art world, using their work to spark conversations about social, cultural, and political issues, and serving as a catalyst for action. The event begins at 6pm and more information on the artists and their work can be found on the Equality Bahamas Facebook page.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 7, 2019, PAGE 9

TECHTALK

JAPAN’S NEC SHOWS ‘FLYING CAR’ HOVERING FOR A MINUTE

THE EASY Mile EZ10 driverless shuttle currently in testing at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, in Austin, Texas.

(Bryce Dubee/Austin-Bergstrom International Airport via AP)

NEC Corp.’s machine with propellers hovers at the company’s facility in Abiko near Tokyo, Monday. The Japanese electronics maker showed a ‘flying car’ – a large drone-like machine with four propellers that hovered steadily for about a minute. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer ABIKO, Japan (AP) — Japanese electronics maker NEC Corp. on Monday showed a “flying car,” a large drone-like machine with four propellers that hovered steadily for about a minute.

The test flight reaching 3 metres (10 feet) high was held in a gigantic cage, as a safety precaution, at an NEC facility in a Tokyo suburb.

The preparations such as the repeated checks on the machine and warnings to reporters to wear helmets took up more time than the two brief demonstrations.

The Japanese government is behind flying cars, with the goal of having people zipping around in them by the 2030s.

Among the government-backed endeavours is a huge test course for flying cars that’s built in an area devastated by the 2011 tsunami, quake and nuclear disasters in Fukushima in northeastern Japan.

Mie, a prefecture in central Japan that’s frequently used as a resort area by Hollywood celebrities, also hopes to use flying cars to connect its various islands.

Similar projects are popping up around world, such as Uber Air of the U.S. A flying car by Japanese startup Cartivator crashed quickly in a 2017 demonstration. Cartivator Chief Executive Tomohiro Fukuzawa, who was at Monday’s demonstration, said their machines were also flying longer lately.

NEC is among the more than 80 sponsor companies for Cartivator’s flying car, which also include Toyota Motor Corp. group companies and video game company Bandai Namco Holdings.

The goal is to deliver a seamless transition from driving to flight like the world of “Back to the Future,” although huge hurdles remain such as battery life, the need for regulations and safety concerns.

NEC officials said their flying car was designed for unmanned flights for deliveries but utilised the company’s technology in its other

operations such as space travel and cybersecurity.

Often called EVtol, for “electric vertical takeoff and landing” aircraft, a flying car is defined as an aircraft that’s electric, or hybrid electric, with driverless capabilities, that can land and takeoff vertically.

All of the flying car concepts, which are like drones big enough to hold humans, promise to be better than helicopters. Helicopters are expensive to maintain, noisy to fly and require trained pilots. Flying cars also are being

touted as useful for disaster relief.

U.S. ride-sharing and transportation network Uber is planning demonstrator flights in 2020 and commercial operations in 2023, and has chosen Dallas, Los Angeles and Melbourne as the first cities to offer what it calls Uber Air flights.

Dubai has also been aggressive about pursuing flying cars. Japanese officials say Japan has a good chance of emerging as a world leader because the government and the private sector will work closely together.

AMAZON’S DELIVERY ROBOTS HEAD TO CALIFORNIA

By JOSEPH PISANI AP Retail Writer

A SELF-driving delivery robot that Amazon is calling Scout.

Amazon is expanding the use of its self-driving delivery robots to a second state. (Amazon via AP, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon’s selfdriving robots will be roaming the streets of another neighbourhood.

The online shopping giant said Tuesday that the six-wheeled robots, about the size of a smaller cooler, will begin delivering packages to customers in Irvine, California. It comes after Amazon began testing them in a suburb of Seattle at the beginning of the year.

Amazon said the robots, which are light blue and have the Amazon smile logo stamped on its sides, are able to avoid crashing into trash cans or pedestrians.

Still, a worker will accompany the robots at first.

Other companies have been testing similar delivery robots on college campuses, delivering burgers or soda to students.

Amazon said its robots, which it calls Scout, will be delivering orders to doorsteps Monday to Friday and only during the day.

• A TEXAS airport has begun testing a driverless shuttle outfitted with cameras and sensors to ensure passengers are transported safely and without the danger of being hit.

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Friday announced the electric autonomous vehicle called Easy Mile EZ10 will be tested for six months in an environmental and people-moving project.

An airport attendant is present to help travelers and for safety purposes.

The shuttle, with seating for six and room for other passengers to stand, has a pre-programmed route between the Barbara Jordan Terminal and the rental car/ground transportation sites.

The shuttle, operating on the upper level of Garage 1, complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act and has wheelchair accessibility.

Airport spokesman Bryce Dubee says it’s another mobility option for travellers.

• SELF-DRIVING cars are set to start picking up passengers in a New York City industrial park.

Starting today, six autonomous shuttles operated by Bostonbased startup Optimus Ride will take riders on a loop to a ferry dock in Brooklyn Navy Yard.

The free service is expected to transport some 500 passengers daily on the yard’s internal roads.

The company says two employees will ride along at first to ensure the software works properly.

New York’s state legislature passed a bill in 2017 allowing companies to test self-driving cars on public roads, but just a few limited tests have taken place.

Optimus Ride, which has roots at MIT, has already tested cars in the Boston area.

It plans to launch similar programmes in Virginia and California.

PAGE 10, Wednesday, August 7, 2019

ACCUSED DENIES DOCUMENT FRAUD

WOMAN ON COCAINE CHARGES IN COLOMBIA IS FROM GB

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net A MAN with an unconfirmed nationality was charged yesterday with defrauding three government agencies of various legal documents between 2011 and 2014.

Germy Charles aka John Doe, was charged before Senior Magistrate Rolle-Davis with fraudulently obtaining a Bahamian naturalisation certificate, passport and National Insurance card in his name from the Department of Immigration, the Passport Office and the National Insurance Board between May 2011 and June 30, 2014.

Charles is further accused of fraudulently obtaining a Bahamian driver’s licence bearing his name from the Road Traffic Department on April 19, 2018. He also allegedly obtained a Bahamian passport in his name via fraudulent means on January 28 of this year.

Charles is also accused of fraudulently obtaining a passport in the name of

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamian woman arrested over the weekend in Cartegenia, Colombia, accused of attempting to smuggle cocaine out of that country, is a resident of Grand Bahama, The Tribune has learned.

The woman - of Freeport - was arrested while at the airport attempting to board a flight to Panama City.

An Italian man was also arrested along with her.

According to reports, anti-narcotics dogs of the Cartagena Police identified two shipments of cocaine that foreign citizens intended to take from Colombia to Panama.

It was reported that one of the dogs named Orion approached the suitcases of an Italian citizen who was in the airport waiting room. “The animal gave the signal and the citizen was transferred to the reflection room, where he was checked,” according to international reports.

In the insoles of six pairs of shoes, the police allegedly found two kilograms of camouflaged cocaine.

Later, the same agents inspected the suitcase of a citizen of the Bahamas and, after being scanned, detected a double bottom in which several kilos of cocaine were camouflaged.

“The National Police made foreigners available to the Attorney General’s Office and is carrying out an investigative process to establish who is behind this drug trafficking network,” according to a Colombian newspaper.

THE TRIBUNE

Denise Charles from the Passport Office on February 15, 2015.

He is also accused of attempting to obtain an unemployment benefit from NIB worth $2,322.06.

Charles is further accused of being in found in possession of an NIB card, driver’s licence, Bahamian passport, and Bahamian naturalisation card—all fake and bearing his name—between July 29 and 30 of this year.

He is also accused of being found in possession of a fake Bahamian birth certificate and Bahamian passport in Denise Charles’ name on July 30. He is further accused of being found in possession of a false copy of a Bahamian marriage certificate in his name and that of Sefanise Frederique on July 30.

Charles denied all of the charges yesterday. As a result, Magistrate Ambrose Armbrister adjourned the matter to November 25 for trial.

Bail was denied and he was remanded into custody in the interim. He has a right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

MAN, 36, ACCUSED OF UNLAWFUL SEX WITH BOY

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

GERMY Charles aka John Doe faces several fraud charges.

A 36-YEAR-OLD man was charged yesterday with having unlawful sexual intercourse with a teenage boy.

Ricardo Dunbar stood before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt over allegations he had sex with the 14-year-old sometime in June.

Dunbar is also accused

of indecently assaulting the teenager sometime in May. The Jasmine Gardens resident was not required to enter a plea to the charges and the matter was adjourned to a later date for service of a voluntary bill of indictment.

Bail was denied and he was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services in the interim. He has the right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

THE TRIBUNE

Wednesday, August 7, 2019, PAGE 11

APPEAL IN JOHN STEINBECK LAWSUIT HEARD IN COURT ANCHORAGE, Alaska Associated Press

BOTH sides had another day in court yesterday in a family battle that has been waged for decades over who controls the works of iconic author John Steinbeck.

A three-judge panel of the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments to an appeal by the estate of Steinbeck’s late son, Thomas Steinbeck. The panel was in Anchorage to hear various cases.

Thomas Steinbeck’s estate is

contesting a 2017 federal jury verdict in California that awarded more than $13 million to the author’s stepdaughter, Waverly Scott Kaffaga, whose mother was John Steinbeck’s third wife.

The lawsuit said Thomas Steinbeck and his wife, Gail Steinbeck, impeded film adaptations of the classic works. A judge earlier ruled in the same case that the couple breached an agreement between Kaffaga’s late mother and Thomas Steinbeck and his late brother, John Steinbeck IV. Attorney Matthew Dowd,

representing the Thomas Steinbeck estate, told the circuit judges the appeal contends the 1983 agreement was in violation of a 1976 change to copyright law that gave artists or their blood relatives the right to terminate copyright deals. The appeal also disputes the award handed up by the jury, maintaining it was not supported by substantial evidence of Gail Steinbeck’s ability to pay.

Kaffaga’s attorney, Susan Kohlmann, told the circuit judges multiple courts, including an earlier Ninth Circuit decision, have

already upheld the agreement as binding and valid, and deemed it enforceable. She called the contract argument a “complete red herring.”

Dowd disagreed. He said previous decisions on the agreement didn’t deal with the particular issue that the agreement was done in contradiction of the 1976 statute.

He said Gail Steinbeck was not allowed to fully address the issue in court. The appeals panel did not rule immediately on the case.

Dowd earlier said he didn’t expect a decision for several months.

The judges appeared skeptical

that the contract issue wasn’t adequately dealt with in previous rulings, and they questioned whether they were being asked to review another circuit court’s decision.

The judges also said the $7.9 million awarded in punitive damages by the Los Angeles jury in 2017 appeared to have been awarded without evidence of Gail Steinberg’s ability to pay. If that part was stricken from the award, there would still remain $5.25 million in compensatory damages, they noted.

BODY OF MISSING STUDENT IS FOUND

OUTRAGE AS TWO COPS LEAD MAN

BY A ROPE GALVESTON, Texas Associated Press

THE police chief of a Texas Gulf Coast city has apologised after two white male officers mounted on horseback led a black, handcuffed trespassing suspect by a rope through downtown streets.

Photos of the Saturday arrest were widely circulated on social media.

Galveston police Chief Vernon Hale said that while his officers used a technique that’s acceptable in some situations, such as with crowd control, they “showed poor judgment in this instance and could have waited for a transport unit at the location of arrest”.

Hale said his department has “immediately changed the policy” to prevent further use of the technique.

The officers had linked the rope to handcuffs worn by 43-year-old criminal trespass suspect Donald Neely and led him to a mounted patrol staging area.

Mary Patrick, president of the Galveston chapter of the NAACP, said that the department had an obligation to explain the officers’ actions to the public. Patrick later said she had spoken with Hale and the police chief had the NAACP’s support.

Gun reform urged in Ohio as Trump visits DAYTON, Ohio Associated Press OHIO’S Republican governor bucked his party to call for expanded gun laws yesterday and some Democrats in Texas told President Donald Trump to stay away as both states reeled from a pair of shootings that killed 31 people.

A racist screed remained the focus of police investigating the massacre at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, while the FBI opened an investigation into the mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, citing the gunman’s interest in violent ideology.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine urged the GOP-led state Legislature to pass laws requiring background checks for nearly all gun sales and allowing courts to restrict firearms access for people perceived as threats.

Persuading the Legislature to pass such proposals could be an uphill battle. It has given little consideration this session to those and other gun-safety measures already introduced by Democrats and DeWine’s Republican predecessor,

GLORIA Garces kneels in front of crosses at a makeshift memorial near the scene of a mass shooting at a shopping complex in El Paso, Texas.

John Kasich, also unsuccessfully pushed for a so-called red flag law on restricting firearms for people considered threats. “We can come together to do these things to save lives,” DeWine said.

Yesterday, the FBI opened an investigation into the mass shooting at a popular Dayton nightlife

district to try to determine what ideologies influenced 24-year-old gunman Connor Betts.

Special Agent Todd Wickerham, head of the FBI’s Cincinnati field office, said the agency is looking into who might have helped Betts and why he chose his specific target.

Wickerham didn’t say whether

the FBI is looking at treating the case as domestic terrorism, as it did in the Texas mass shooting earlier in the weekend.

President Donald Trump was planning visits to both cities today, an announcement that stirred some resistance in El Paso.

Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar of El Paso made clear that the president was not welcome in her hometown as it mourned. Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, who was an El Paso congressman for six years, also said Trump should stay away.

Escobar tweeted that the White House had invited her to join Trump during his visit but she’ll instead attend a rally that organizers say will confront the president and white supremacy while calling for gun control.

Escobar said that victims’ families were already using the city’s newly opened resource center where various government and mental health services have set up booths. “There’s going to be a lot of trauma in our community; a lot of children saw things that no human being should see,” Escobar said.

THE body of a Cambridge University student who fell from a light aircraft in Madagascar has been found. Alana Cutland, 19, from Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, fell from the plane on 25 July.

Local police chief Sinola Nomenjahary confirmed Ms Cutland’s body had been found in a rural area yesterday. Ms Cutland was studying natural sciences at Robinson College and was on an internship on the African island at the time of her death.

Earlier this week Colonel D’y La Paix Ralaivaonary said Ms Cutland had been frustrated and “disappointed” with her research project. He said within days of arriving she had seemed to conclude that the project would not be a success.

Ms Cutland was on an internship in Madagascar when she died Ms Cutland had contacted her supervisor on her second day in Madagascar and at least twice more after that, the colonel said.

Police previously said Ms Cutland fell to her death after opening a plane door, but the reason why she did so remains unclear.

They ruled out a possible adverse reaction to antimalaria medication she was taking, but have since said the theory is “still on the table”.

Ms Cutland’s family said they were heartbroken at the death of “a bright, independent young woman”.

“She was always so kind and supportive to her family and friends, which resulted in her having a very special connection with a wide network of people from all walks of her life, who we know will miss her dearly,” her family said.

Dr David Woodman, from Robinson College, said they were “deeply shocked by the news of Alana’s death”. “In her two years here, she made a huge contribution to many different aspects of life in the college - she will be sorely missed by us all,” he said.

WORLD MOURNS TONI MORRISON NEW YORK Associated Press

NOBEL laureate Toni Morrison, a pioneer and reigning giant of modern literature whose imaginative power in “Beloved,” ‘’Song of Solomon” and other works transformed American letters by dramatizing the pursuit of freedom within the boundaries of race, has died at age 88.

Publisher Alfred A. Knopf announced that Morrison died at Montefiore Medical Center in New York after a brief illness.

Alicia Wallace - Page 8

CHINA WARNS HONG KONG PROTESTERS THAT PUNISHMENT IS COMING HONG KONG Associated Press

CHINA warned yesterday that it will be “only a matter of time” before it punishes those behind two months of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong that have increasingly devolved into violent clashes with law enforcement.

The comments by Yang Guang, spokesman for the Chinese Cabinet’s Hong Kong and Macao

Affairs Office, are a further indication that Beijing will take a hard line against the demonstrators and has no plans to negotiate over their demands for political reforms.

“We would like to make it clear to the very small group of unscrupulous and violent criminals and the dirty forces behind them: Those who play with fire will perish by it,” Yang said. “Don’t ever misjudge the situation

and mistake our restraint for weakness.”

Singling out “brazen, violent and criminal actors” and the “meddling hands behind the scenes” as the focus law enforcement efforts, Yang said, “As for their punishment, it’s only a matter of time.”

China so far has not visibly intervened in the situation, though it has published a series of strongly worded editorials in

state media condemning “violent radicals” and “foreign forces” allegedly inflaming them.

Speculation has grown that the Communist Party-led central government will deploy the military to quell demonstrators after Chinese officials pointed to an article in Hong Kong law that allows troops already stationed in the city to help with “public order maintenance” at the Hong Kong government’s request.

While Hong Kong authorities have said they don’t anticipate any need to bring in troops or police from China to help impose order, the Hong Kong army garrison and police in the city of Shenzhen across the border have both released videos recently of their officers training to disperse groups of people dressed in black and wearing masks and construction helmets like many of the Hong Kong protesters.

PAGE 12, Wednesday, August 7, 2019

THE TRIBUNE

Former national athlete on fraud charges

By NICO SCAVELLA Tribune Staff Reporter nscavella@tribunemedia.net

ALLEN MORTIMER, pictured yesterday, was charged with swindling Fusion Superplex of $3,611.12.

A 41-YEAR-OLD former national athlete used six aliases to defraud a local movie theatre complex of over $3,000 worth of credit over the last seven months, police have alleged.

Allen Mortimer - who allegedly used the names Sean Miller, Tracy Mortimer, Antonio Saunders, Tracy Miller, Gordia Ewing and Kayla Allen - was charged yesterday with swindling Fusion Superplex of $3,611.12 between January and July.

Mortimer, a former triplejumper, is also accused of attempting to swindle Western Air Limited of $993.24 worth of credit between July 12 and 21.

He also allegedly swindled the airline of $225.08 worth of credit on July 19. He is also accused of defrauding Latario Collie of $150 cash on July 25.

Police said those charges are in connection with a credit card scam where airline tickets were being purchased with stolen cards.

Mortimer denied all of the charges during his arraignment before Senior

MORTIMER, an ex-triple-jumper Magistrate Derence RolleDavis. As a result, his matters involving Fusion Superplex were adjourned to October 15 and 16 for trial, while his matter involving Western Air was adjourned to November 25 and 26 for trial.

Bail was denied and he was ordered to be remanded into custody in the interim. He has a right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

Mortimer has represented The Bahamas at various international sporting events and was a member of The Bahamas national team.

He finished sixth in the triple jump at the 1996 World Junior Championships in Sydney, Australia, and in 2000 he won the NACAC Under-25 Championships in Monterrey, Mexico.