Cunupia man, 42, found dead near Tobago airport

POLICE are investigating the death of a 42-year-old Cunupia man whose body was found at the beach near the ANR Robinson International airport in Tobago on October 13.

Marcus Archer, originally from Bejucal Road, was employed with a contracting company in Tobago.

He was last seen by colleagues at around 6 pm on October 12 when he was leaving work.

His body was found with a chop wound to the neck and investigators have ruled out gang affiliation as a motive.

Police were called when a homeless man who lives near the beach found Archer’s body at around 8 am and told a bather.

Police believe his death would have occurred sometime in the wee hours of the morning.

Tobago has experienced a surge in murders and Archer’s death was the 25th murder this year, the highest number of murders ever recorded in the island's history.

Nicholas Mitchell, 32, was the 24th person murdered on the island this year after being shot at his home in Argyle on September 22. His mother, who was nearby and heard the gunshots, later found his body.

Two days earlier, Brandon Edwards, who lived a stone's throw away from Mitchell, was the island's 23rd murder victim when he was shot and killed while was making his way home.

Mitchell’s mother said she believes both murders were linked to the shooting death of Beetham resident Amanda “Dolly Boss” Guerra who was killed in the area in August.

"Persons’ names start to be calling and I always hearing they have a list and whatever but I used to be warning him.”

Chairman of the Tobago Business Chamber Martin George, at a summit on crime and violence last month described the island as a “paradise lost."

“The place that we used to say was 'safe,' the smallest division of the TTPS, apparently that is now being lost. It is like Milton’s poem – Paradise Lost.”

George said: “If we cannot make our smallest division safe, if Tobago cannot remain a safe place and a safe space, then nowhere in TT is safe.”

He called for better policing of ferries and points of entry to reduce the proliferation of firearms on the island saying, "The inflow of illegal guns and ammunition is too much.”

He added, "We are scanning walk-on passengers and doing nothing in relation to someone who can drive on with a vanload of illegal guns."

George called on Tobagonians to use Crimestoppers to share information on criminal activity.

He also suggested it is necessary to focus on the performance of the police in order to fight crime.

“They are the primary organisation in the country charged with the responsibility of protecting and serving. I want to ask everyone today: do you feel protected? Do you feel safe?”

Senior Supt Earl Elie of the Tobago Division said police are doing all they can to address the public’s concern over the island’s record murder toll.

He said, though, while it was impossible to stop murders altogether, he hopes the strategies being implemented will lead to an immediate reduction.

“You can’t put a definite timeline on these things. I want it to be immediate but that may not be realistic. But I hope for an immediate reduction, not next week or next month. I hope for an immediate reduction and we are doing everything that we can, to try (to accomplish that).”

He called on the public to also do their part and assist the police in ridding the island of crime and criminality.

“Fighting crime is everybody’s business and while the police are mandated to do that, we are still calling on the public to share any kind of information they have, not only about this crime (Archer’s death) but also any other crime that may have occurred on the island or might be occurring.

“It’s a fight for all of us and the police are doing everything we can do at this time to curb the violent crimes in Tobago. So we are calling on the public to assist and let us work together to bring Tobago back to some acceptable level that can be enjoyed by citizens.”

ACP Oswain Subero, who previously worked in the Inter-Agency Task Force, is now responsible for the division.

Asked last month about the number of murders in Tobago, he declined to comment but said it is a concern for the police.

He said he was “up to the challenge” of taking the lead in Tobago and he planned to build on existing crime-fighting strategies while working closely with Tobagonians in the fight against crime.

At an award ceremony at the Shaw Park cultural complex last month to honour police officers involved in gun and ammo seizures, Subero’s predecessor, Collis Hazel said the island was ranked fifth among the country’s ten police divisions, with a detection rate of 32 per cent.

He said the Charlotteville station district has solved 81 per cent of serious crimes in its division while Roxborough and Scarborough solved 38 per cent and 35 per cent of their crimes respectively.

He also pointed to a decrease in crimes such as sexual offences (32 per cent), fraud (57 per cent), motor vehicle larceny (33 per cent), break-ins (17 per cent) and general larceny (17 per cent) and larceny of dwelling houses (25 per cent).

However, he noted an increase in the number of firearms seized from 15 last year to 17 this year, and in gun-related crimes (32 per cent).

Tobagonian parents were urged at that ceremony to take their communities back by talking to their children about crime before “unfortunate things” happen.