Cop’s gun returned, North Leeward man facing charges

Michael Prince, a 45-year-old farmer of Fitz Hughes, has been remanded in custody after he was arrested and charged, with stealing the gun of a police officer,{{more}} assaulting the police officer and resisting arrest, among other things.

According to reports reaching SEARCHLIGHT, a group of police officers from the Rapid Response Unit were on routine patrol on Sunday, May 8, in the Morne Garu Mountains (also known as Monkoshong or Grushon Mountain), when they encountered a man in possession of a quantity of marijuana, at around 4 pm. The man was apprehended, and Corporal Mark Billy was left to guard him and secure the area, while the rest of the party continued on patrol.

Robert Ollivierre, a Justice of Peace in the North Leeward area, told SEARCHLIGHT that he was at work on Sunday, May 8, at around 8:45 pm, when Michael Prince, also known as “Stumpy”, brought a firearm to him and told him that someone had found it and wanted to turn it over to the police.

Ollivierre, a former school teacher and police officer, said that half an hour later, the police turned up and took possession of the weapon.

Ollivierre said that Prince insisted that he had found the weapon.

“This is a serious issue … so I wouldn’t want to say much at this time,” Ollivierre added.

A police report said Prince was arrested and charged with having in his possession “36,774 grammes of cannabis”, with intent to supply to another; for cultivating 13 mature plants of the genus cannabis; for assaulting Mark Billy, police officer, “by striking him about his body with his hands”; for resisting arrest of Mark Billy, police officer “by pulling away his hands”; for the theft of one black semi-automatic pistol and ten rounds of ammunition, valued at EC$4,000, the property of the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, stolen on May 8, 2011.

Prince appeared at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

He was remanded into custody and the matter was transferred to the Serious Offences Court for hearing.

Meanwhile, Patel Matthews, Parliamentary Representative for North Leeward, which includes Fitz Hughes, is calling for an investigation into the incident involving the theft of the firearm, because of what he calls “lack of training and any clear direction from police officers in his constituency”.

Matthews said that he will be monitoring the situation closely to ensure that the rights of his constituent are protected.

“In the first place, the RRU was brought in to deal with the yacht breaking issues, but it seems that sometimes they go overboard harassing innocent persons who are just going about their daily business”.

The first term MP stressed that Prince should be commended for his good citizenship.

Corporal Billy is a nine-year veteran of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (SVGPF) and is based at Chateaubelair, as part of an RRU unit.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Nicholls, Head of public relations for the Police Force, told SEARCHLIGHT that there is protocol for any situation, hence an internal investigation will have to be carried out into the incident. He, however, stated that Corporal Billy is a good officer. (TY)