Police have arrested and charged Romano “Russian” Andrews, of Peruvian Vale/Clare Valley, in connection with the Sept. 7, 2023 shooting death of Jovanne Baptiste in Buccament Bay.
Baptiste, a 29-year-old construction worker, of Rose Place, was gunned down around 7:55 a.m. while walking to work at the construction site of Sandals Beaches Resort.
Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police Trevor “Buju” Bailey, who is responsible for crime fighting in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, announced the arrest and charge during a press conference that is ongoing at Police Headquarters in Kingstown.
Baptiste was shot some 16 times, by a gunman who reportedly fired from two handguns, along the feeder road that runs along the Buccament Bay Secondary School and the SDA Primary School.
Initial reports were that Baptiste was killed by a masked assailant who had been sitting under a small hedge nearby for some time before committing the crime.
Baptiste was wearing headphones when he was set upon as he walked to work.
Police were hoping that footage from CCTV mounted in the area could help in cracking the case.
The shooting took place about 50 yards away from the SDA Primary School as a young student was making his way into the compound.
SVG recorded 55 homicides in 2023, 52 of which have been classified as murder.
Andrews has become the second person to be charged with murder by the police since last Friday, in connection with months-old homicide cases.
On Tuesday, Rion “Pitbull” Cole appeared before the Serious Offences Court, charged with the August 2022 murder of Zarrel Veronica “Keisha” Small, of Fountain/Arnos Vale.
Cole is charged that between Aug. 24 and 25, 2022, with malice aforethought, he caused Small’s death by an unlawful act.
Small, a 43-year-old unemployed woman formerly of Fountain, was living at Pole Yard, Arnos Vale at the time of her death.
Her body was found on the tarmac at the decommissioned E.T Joshua Airport in Arnos Vale on Aug. 25, 2022 about 6 a.m.
The deceased was met lying on her back in an area where containers and trailers were being stored. She had what appeared to be a piece of PVC pipe inserted into her vagina.
A post mortem conducted on Aug. 26, 2022, concluded that she died of asphyxia due to manual strangulation.
Kenton your headline that Russian charged with Baptiste murder is misleading at best. One would have to have read the entire article to determine that the person who was charged with the alleged crime was not a Russian citizen or born in Russian. This is very poor journalism and i trust you wherewithal to publish my observation. There person charged has no association with the country of Russia.
W. Cole,
Thank you for you comment. Punctuation marks have meanings. ‘Russian’ and Russian do not mean the same thing.
Kenton Romano is it not his legal name? Why exclude it? Any reason for excluding Romano?
Kenton would it not more appropriate if you had written Romano ‘Russian ‘ bla bla bla?
Kenton the average reader is not going to see’ Russian ‘. However, Romano ‘ Russian’ is more descriptive and accurate.
It’s time for Russian to be put away for a very long time while I regret it’s at the expense of someone’s life. This young man has decided not to make any meaningful contribution to society whatsoever. Now he has upgraded to a ” murder accuse ” a waste of life .
I agree with all the comments because I thought it was a Russian citizen until I read the story in full.
As for the punctuation marks, that was oversight. Yes, the heading was very misleading.
Thanks anyways, for bringing news to us in the diaspora.
Kenton Chance the same article appeared in the Searchlight newspaper of January 5, 2024. It stated Romano Andrews better known as “Russian ” appeared before the courts where senior magistrate, Collin John presided. Very precise and not ambiguous.