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Colombian smugglers to testify against cop

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NASSAU- Two Colombian drug smugglers have agreed to testify against an allegedly corrupt cop, who’s accused of helping them to bring a shipment of cocaine and marijuana into the country last year.

Cristhian Garcia and Cristhian Aragon will have their prison sentences cut to three years and two months in exchange for their testimony against ASP Sonny Miller, the former chief of police on Acklins.

Miller is accused of abetting Garcia and Aragon to import 181 pounds of cocaine, worth $1.4 million, and 31 pounds of marijuana, valued at $34,000, into Acklins on June 7, 2022.

Garcia, Aragon and Miller were arrested at the airport in Spring Point, Acklins following a joint operation between the US Coast Guard, the Drug Enforcement Unit and the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Aragon and Garcia took a plea agreement on Friday and were sentenced to 60 months in prison for drug possession with intent to supply, drug importation and conspiring to commit those offenses. The sentence was reduced to 52 months after they received credit for the eight months that they spent on remand.

The sentence will be reduced to 38 months in exchange for their testimony against Miller.

However, the convicts will serve five years and four months in prison if they back out of the deal to become cooperating witnesses.

Persons convicted of drug trafficking offenses are not entitled to time off for good behaviour.

Garcia and Aragon travelled from Bogota, Colombia to The Dominican Republic. From there, they went to Venezuela, where the seats were taken from the plane and the drugs were put on. They arrived in Acklins on June 7, 2022.

Jealous husband rams love rival’s car with his truck

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NASSAU- A jealous husband who caught his estranged wife in another man’s car, drove after them, ramming his love rival’s car with his truck.

John Jacob Cates, 30, lost his cool after catching his wife with a policeman at Arawak Cay on February 2, a Magistrate’s Court heard.

The policeman drove off in a hurry with Cates in pursuit. Cates chased the couple along West Bay Street, ramming the back of the officer’s Honda Accord with his truck multiple times.

The officer received injuries to his back and his car was severely damaged.

The court heard that Cates suspected his wife of six years was having an affair, so he bugged and put a tracking device on her vehicle.

The wife was able to hear the couple’s conversation at Arawak Cay before they got into the officer’s car.

Thanks to the tracker, Cates knew their location and came to confront them. Cates has two children with his wife. However, she left him several months ago.

Cates, of Cowpen Road, pleaded guilty to causing harm and causing damage.

He was fined $500 for causing harm to the officer with a default sentence of one month in prison. Additionally, Cates has to pay $7,330 in restitution to avoid spending 30 days behind bars.

Copyright Bahamas Court News 2023

2 dead in separate shootings

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NASSAU- Two men were killed in New Providence Sunday night in separate shootings that took place hours apart.

Police had few details of the crimes—and could not say if they were related.

The first killing took place around 9pm. Police responded to reports of gunshots at South Beach. An unidentified man, believed to be in his 20s, had been shot and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Two hours later, police were called to a shooting at Gambier Village. When they arrived, they met a man with gunshot wounds to the head. He, too, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said the 39-year-old victim was on bail for a serious crime.

Police are appealing to people with information with information about either incident to call CrimeStoppers on 328-8477 or CID at 502-9991-3.

Judge revokes bail of man facing 3 murder raps

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NASSAU- A judge has revoked the bail of an alleged gang member accused of three murders.

Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson last week revoked 24-year-old Ahmad Clarke’s bail after prosecutors presented evidence that he had repeatedly failed to comply with his curfew and signing conditions for murders allegedly committed in 2018 and 2020.

Clarke was granted bail for the 2018 shooting death of Christian Moore and the attempted murders of Romeo Moss and Tarsman Clarke.

While awaiting trial for that crime, Clarke was accused of murdering Renaldo Nixon and attempting to murder Antonisha Adderley in a November 24, 2020 shooting at Hepburn Alley.

He allegedly reoffended last November after prosecutors accused him of the October 29, 2022 shooting death of Fred Lifaite at Sixth Street, Coconut Grove.

Clarke was seeking bail for the third murder case when prosecutors applied to have his bail for the previous murder cases revoked.

Clarke also has two pending illegal firearm cases.

Woman shot dead 2 years after brother killed

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NASSAU- An 18-year-old woman was shot dead in the early hours of Saturday morning, almost two years after her half- brother was fatally shot.

Harrinique McPhee became the victim of an ambush shooting around 1am.

Police said she was at Coleman Lane with a 22-year-old man when three men emerged from bushes and opened fire on a Nissan March with high-powered weapons.

McPhee was killed and the man is in stable condition at hospital.

McPhee’s older brother, reputed Crack Nation gang leader Renardo “Crack Teeth” Bastian, was killed in April 2021 at age 31. Bastian, the leader of the Crack Nation gang, was killed in an ambush shooting shortly after he was released from police custody.

Maurice Pinder, 21; Travis Cooper, 25; Delano Smith, 34; Darrnario Saunders, 26, and Kendal Lord, 30, were also killed in the incident.

Before meeting his tragic end, Bastian lost two brothers to gun violence. Alfred “Half Man” Bastian was killed on December 3, 2020 at Cooper’s Terrace. Kino Kelly Bastian was killed in a drive-by shooting in Kemp Road on January 14, 2017.

2 charged with marine’s murder

Two men stand accused of the January 18 murder of a Royal Bahamas Defence Force Marine.

Prosecutors say that 26-year-old Briantino Fox and 20-year-old Jeron Stuart fatally shot Marine Seaman Alvarez McCoy in an ambush outside his home on Armbrister Street, Fox Hill.

The suspects, who lived together, were to enter pleas to the charges at their first court appearance before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt on Thursday, January 26.

Bail was denied and they are next due in court on May 10.

Ex-con wanted for murder

NASSAU- Police want to question an ex-convict about the country’s latest murder.

The Royal Bahamas Police Force issued a wanted bulletin for 47-year-old Lawrence Russell hours after a 43-year-old shooting victim died in hospital.

Russell was released from prison in 2020 after spending more than two decades behind bars for manslaughter.

Investigators believe that Russell might have information that could assist them in solving the murder of a man, known as Bucket.

Police said the victim was shot by another man near his Johnson Road home shortly before noon on Thursday, January 26.

He was taken to the hospital where he died from his injuries.

Anyone with information about Russell’s whereabouts should call police on 502-9991-3 or call CrimeStoppers on 328-8477.

Man dies in custody at Central Police Station

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NASSAU- A 60-year-old man was found unresponsive Sunday morning in a cell at the Central Police Station.

An ambulance was called; however, paramedics could not revive him.

According to police, the deceased was arrested on Saturday, January 21, for stealing.

Officers found him unresponsive around 7:30am on January 22 while making routine checks of the detainees.

An autopsy will determine how he died. In the meantime, the matter has been referred to the Coroner.

Ex-con jailed for $22k theft

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NASSAU- An ex-convict is back in prison after he admitted to stealing over $22,000 from a business in the Berry Islands this month.

Tyson Smith, who’s street name is “Snake”, pleaded guilty to charges of shop breaking and stealing at his arraignment before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt.

Shortly after midnight on January 9, police received reports of a break-in at the White Waters Shop, Restaurant and Bar in Bullocks Harbour. The intruder stole $22,181 from a safe, and surveillance footage led to Smith.

Police recovered $20,000 of the stolen cash when they went to Smith’s home.

Smith had recently been released from prison after serving a 14-year sentence for armed robbery and rape.

Notwithstanding, Smith’s prior record, he was sentenced to seven months in prison for his most recent crime.

Cops find 5 kilos of cocaine in box of seafood

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INAGUA- Police found five kilos of cocaine, worth $100,000, hidden inside a box of seafood.

The officers made the discovery around noon on Saturday January 21 after checking a box on a mail boat in Inagua.

They are quizzing a 65-year-old man about the $100,000 cocaine find.

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