Ole mas at hospital over shot Venezuelan

After spending more than two months as a patient of the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital, Venezuelan national Andes Dominguez savored the sweet taste of freedom for a few brief seconds, only to have it snatched away again.{{more}}

The drama began to unfold just after 1 p.m. on Tuesday on the male surgical ward of the hospital in the presence of doctors, nurses and patients.

Veteran lawyer Bayliss Frederick arrived at the hospital with documents signed by Magistrate Donald Browne indicating that no charges were being laid against Dominguez.

Dominguez had been under guard at the hospital since he was shot in both hands and his left leg while being apprehended by the local Coast Guard on September 23rd in the waters off Union Island.

Frederick said that he was going to take Dominguez to the airport, where a flight was waiting to take him back to Venezuela to receive medical treatment.

Police officers guarding Dominguez refused to allow him to leave, causing Frederick to become agitated.

The argument between Frederick and the police brought out high-ranking hospital and police officials, including Hospital Administrator Fitz Jones and Assistant Superintendent of Police Willisford Caesar.

Following some resistance and a brief shoving match, the 84-year-old lawyer was forcefully removed from the ward by members of the Police Special Services Unit who were called to the scene, along with a number of Criminal Investigation Department officers and members of the Rapid Response Unit.

Dominguez was then discharged from the hospital, following which he was immediately apprehended by the police, arrested, taken to the Central Police Station and charged with discharging a firearm.

Frederick, after being ejected from the ward, indicated that he intended to press charges against the officer or officers who manhandled him during the fracas.

He claimed that the police had no grounds to detain his client, and what transpired at the hospital was a breach of the Constitution of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

“Are the police higher than the Magistrates now?” Fredrick asked aloud.

“What is going on in this country?”

One officer at the scene indicated that he had no idea what was going on, saying that he was just called to the hospital because of a supposed disturbance.

When asked by Searchlight why Dominguez had not been charged when he was originally apprehended, one senior officer responded, “I don’t know.”