The three Grenadian men suspected of hijacking a yacht there and murdering the two U.S. citizens who were on board have each pleaded guilty to four immigration charges in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), to which they fled after escaping prison in their home country.
Today (Monday) at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court, Senior Magistrate Colin John remanded the men into custody to return to court in one week.
Ron Mitchell, 30, Trevon Robertson, 25, and Atiba Stanislaus, 23, of Paradise, St. Andrew, Grenada each pleaded guilty to charges that on Feb. 21, at Petit Bordel, being a prohibited immigrant, he entered the state of SVG by boat without a passport; entered the state of SVG other than at a port of entry; entered the state by boat and disembarked without the consent of an immigration officer; and knowingly and wilfully allowed himself to be landed as a prohibited immigrant.
The prosecutor, acting Corporal of Police Corlene Samuel had just begun to give the facts in the case when the magistrate told her that he would remand the men in custody and hear the facts on March 4.
The men were escorted to court by heavily armed officers from tactical units of the police force, armed with assault rifles in addition to short arms.
Mitchell held his side and appeared to have tears flowing from his eyes during his arraignment.
He had to be assisted in exiting the pan of the unmarked police pick-up in which he was taken to court.
iWitness News has been able to confirm that police shot Mitchell while apprehending the trio in Petit Bordel, a village on the west coast of St. Vincent last Wednesday.
The trio are said to be among five Grenadians arrested in North Leeward over the last week.
One of the other two Grenadian is said to be wanted in his home country on rape charges.
Grenadian and Vincentians detectives have been combing the catamaran “Simplicity” for evidence as they investigate the disappearance of the two U.S. sailors, who have been identified as Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel.
On Saturday, two of the couple’s relatives stood on the dock at the SVG Coast Guard Service Calliaqua Base, where the yacht is docked, as investigators continued their probe.
iWitness News was reliably informed that the relatives of the missing couple had helped detectives to identify some of the missing couple’s personal items.
The yacht was allegedly stolen in Grenada on Feb. 19 and sailed to St. Vincent overnight, allegedly by the three escaped prisoners.
Officers from the Major Crime Unit and the Criminal Records office in Kingstown were joined by their Grenadian counterparts, including a forensic investigator, aboard the vessel on Friday.
Caribbean Safety and Security Net’s (CSSN), which collects and disseminates information relating to crimes against yachts in the Caribbean, reported that a cruising catamaran that had been anchored off Grand Anse, Grenada, was found poorly anchored with a shredded jib off the coast of Wallilabou on the west coast of St. Vincent on Tuesday.
“Upon inspection, it was found that the yacht had been ransacked, and it was apparent a violent act had taken place. Copious amounts of blood were found in the master stateroom, and the two owners were missing,” CSSN reported.
The yacht’s dinghy was also missing but was later recovered and personal items of the occupants of the yacht were also missing.
However, passports found onboard the vessel allowed authorities to make contact with the victims’ emergency contact.
CSSN said the three men escaped from their holding cell in Grenada the day the yacht’s automatic identification system track moved from Grenada to St. Vincent between 10 p.m. Sunday and 3 p.m. Monday.
In a statement on Thursday, the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) said the three men who escaped their custody and were recaptured in SVG were charged jointly with one count of robbery with violence.
Additionally, Mitchell was charged separately with one count of rape, three counts of attempted rape, two counts of indecent assault, and causing harm.
The three men were kept in the holding cell at the South St. George Police Station and escaped lawful custody, Feb. 18, RGPF said.
“Preliminary information emanating from investigators in St Vincent suggests that the three men made their way to St. Vincent via a yacht which was docked in the St. George area. The RGPF is currently working on leads that suggest that the two occupants of the yacht may have been killed in the process. It is believed that the occupants of the yacht were American citizens.”
The Grenada police said that the investigation was in its infancy stage and that they had dispatched a team of senior investigators and a forensic specialist to SVG in furtherance of this investigation.
Good throw away the keys let them rot hell
Good far away the keys
It is one thing that criminals pounce on unsuspecting victims.; happens every day and all the time. However, it is another when those criminals were once detained being in police custody then escaped therefrom and followed up with acts of homicide.
Do I smell a lawsuit here against the Government of Grenada citing negligence among others? It does not matter the nationality of the victims. The real issue becomes: how they, the perpetrators of that heinous crime, managed to escape law enforcement custody.
Are all those on duty at that time suspended until investigations ? In my opinion , I think they should be all sacked. When I was working in a hospital in Europe, there was an incident involving a patient and every one on that shift on that ward was given the marching order.
It would be interesting to know what crimes the perps initially committed. Their escape was hardcore and depraved so it doesn’t sound like they were “petty” criminals, so to speak.
Heavy police presence depending on who the victim is. Hope they get justice.
Imagine that the retired sailors may have been tossed overboard like piece of trash. These culprits are heartless in every manner and deserve the gallows. The culprits will never pay for their crimes by going to the gallows given thar the hurdle is now thw worst of the worst. If such crimes did not exceed that threshold then I dont what will be a fit. The hangman is on too long a sabbatical.
The RGPG should be ashamed with this high level of negligence and not to mention INCOMPETENCE.. so South st George police station is a supermarket.. you can just Walk in and Walk out anytime you want, nobody at the front desk.. these micreants make y’all look like fools..this could have been avoided.. now this poor couple had to pay for it..Shame Shame Shame!
This whole case stinks to high Heaven and I smell a big rat. Never, ever would anyone in their right mind, visit this horrible nation.
The question is were those in authority acted in consert to aid the detainees in escaping? If so what penalties should be imposed?
A systemic failure by the RGPF , my hearts and prays are with the victims. This is an embarrassment on so many levels and it’s time to put the death penalty Grenada and the other islands stop being influenced by the British , US , Canada soft policies on criminals who think they have rights , did they have the rights to kill innocent people think about it . The animals need to be hanged in public, and stop wasting tax payers money by feeding these animals in jail , wake up Grenada and other island you say you are independent prove it and implement a no tolerance policy for capital murder use the death penalty.