Commissioner Steve Foster and Deputy Commissioner Siddell
The Royal Montserrat Police Service confirmed last Friday that a 19-year-old male Orin Francois Redwood-Evans has been arrested and charged with the murder of local businessman Aubrey Barry, who died enroute to hospital in Barbados, where he was medivaced after he sustained head injuries at his home in Manjack here in Montserrat.
Commissioner of Police Steve Foster told the press on Friday, Oct. 12, 2012 that Evans had been remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison after being formally charged with the killing of Barry, which took place sometime between late Wednesday and early Thursday morning, October 4, 2012.
Commissioner Foster declined to say if Evans had confessed to killing the businessman who ran a small grocery in the Cudjoe Head area. He said the investigation was continuing and anyone with information about the incident could contact the police and share what they knew in confidence.
A post mortem of Barry, originally from Guyana, was conducted in Barbados with one local forensic officer in attendance. The results are being reviewed, the top police official said.
This brings to two the number of homicides in 2012. Commissioner Foster said history has shown that Montserrat recorded one murder every five to seven years and so this statistic was unusual and bore looking into.
Police Inspector Bennett Kirwan has been assigned as the lead investigator with Inspector Williams appointed as family liaison officer.
George Allen Jr.’s death still labelled as “unnatural”
RMPS is presently awaiting the return of an officer from Trinidad & Tobago with exhibits and results from tests conducted on the body of George Allen Jr. who died in June after reportedly being left for dead in March with a bullet in his head.
Commissioner Foster said his death remains labelled as “unnatural” as there has been no evidence uncovered to declare it a homicide, denying that this was the case prior. The case has already been reviewed by the BVI Police Service who highlighted other directions in which the local police could consider in the investigation, Commissioner Foster reported.
Sexual Assault Cases
46-year-old Thomas Allen of Jamaica has been released on bail after being charged with the sexual offence of a minor. Allen is awaiting his court hearing.
Commissioner Foster said the results of evidence sent to Jamaica for forensic tests following several sexual assaults of women late in 2011 and early 2012 were negative and eliminated the suspects under consideration for the crimes.
In other police news, Commissioner of Police Steve Foster is hoping the decrease in traffic accidents continues.
He said Friday that to date there have been 70 traffic accidents compared to 100 at this point in 2011.
He however cautioned drivers with the ongoing road works to be careful and to observe the one directional traffic flows which have been established to enable the work to continue unimpeded.
At his opportunity to speak Deputy Commissioner (DCOP) Siddell told the media that the RMPS Traffic Department will be instituting a “CheckStop” programme this Thursday across the island. The programme will focus on “one of our Policing Plan objectives “Improve Road Safety / Safer Streets,” he said
Every two to four weeks the Traffic Department will announce a new road safety theme. For example “Working Lights & Signals”, “Stopping Behind the Sign”, “Follow Safely Not Close”, or “Park Where Your Permitted”, etc.”
During prescribed short time periods at designated locations, the Traffic Department assisted by Beat and Patrol officers will conduct saturated traffic safety education and enforcement.
“Our goal is to influence the public’s views on the importance of safe driving,” Siddell explained.
The first “campaign” was scheduled to begin this Thursday, October 18.
