Police canvas drivers for details on killing
(CNS): The police tried to break through the usual wall of silence on gang-related killings by canvassing drivers and people visiting the Seven Mile Shops area on Saturday, exactly one week after Justin Manderson was murdered there. The West Bay man, who police believe was a prominent local gang member, was gunned down in the early morning hours of 1 October, and although two people have been arrested on suspicion of killing him, the police hope for more arrests.
A spokesperson for the RCIPS said the exercise early Saturday morning was to allow officers working the case to “gather new leads and find further witnesses” who might have been in the same spot a week before, and that during the exercise some new information came to light.
Manderson was believed to have been at the Nectar Lounge, a nightclub in the plaza, before he was shot, and detectives were aiming to find people who were in and around the club last week close to the time he was killed, as well as those who may have been driving by, who could help with the first murder case this year.
Although two men have been arrested on suspicion of the murder and another couple for drug and ammunition charges that turned up during related searches, the senior investigating officer on the case, Malcolm Kay, has said that he expects that more people will be picked up by police.
Manderson was well known to the authorities as he has faced charges relating to gang violence and guns. Last year he was charged with the murder of Victor Yates, who was gunned down outside Super C’s bar and restaurant in West Bay, but the case against him collapsed when all the witnesses to the killing refused to give evidence in court. Finding witnesses willing to go all the way to court in these cases has been a consistent challenge for the RCIPS.
Quite alarming, the level of the criminality culture that has been allowed to fester here in Cayman. When you read through the news of court appearances & related charges on-going for such a small population , casts somewhat of a dim shadow on the façade of multi million $ developments & the promising tourism and financial industry, just to name a few. It just sadly illustrates the failing of Caymans society & poor attempts at improving the root causes of such problems, over the many years they have been allowed to continue.
Anyone see the irony in the RCIPS being able to spend the overtime and resources to canvass the area outside Nectar after the fatal shooting, but apparently unable to even have a single police car outside Seven Mile shops the night of the killing, even though there had been a shooting there the weekend before (no canvass for that incident, which was being kept quiet).
And it still will be a consistent challenge. People are not going to trust their lives with the RCIPS. They ‘lost evidence’ for a child molestation case for God sakes.
Can someone show this message to the RCIPS: In case the RCIPS does not know, i will share with them what they should know. EVERYONE who has testified as a witness in a murder/manslaughter case has ended up DEAD! So why are we going to testify and help the RCIPS who cant even protect its people. We must do the work for you and give you information, but YOU the RCIPS cannot protect the witness who does so. Why be witness? once you become one, you will shorten your time on earth.
Sounds like a threat….could you make a helpful suggestion?
You don’t need to talk to RCIPS……you can call TIPS line who never ask for your name or address also TIPS calling centre is in Flordia which it is unlikely they will know you. They will pass on the information to RCIPS
This is true, but in a lot of cases the police are relying solely on witnesses. So even if you report it to TIPS and the police know who did it, they can’t get it through court without bringing witnesses to the stand. Unfortunately, on an island the size of Cayman, decent witness protection can only really be accomplished by moving the witness to another country. Some people aren’t willing to uproot their lives and some aren’t eligible as they themselves have criminal records.
If we cannot offer reliable witness protection for testimony, then we should compell the private sector to prepare and maintain better evidence gathering tools going forward. Late night clubs, banks, money transfer kiosks, liquor and convenience stores, and all the other usual hit and run crime hot spots (especially in tourism areas) should be covered exhaustively both inside and out with working night-capable HD CCTV and lighting. The private sector needs to get their act in gear to protect their assets and customers if there is to be an expectation of judicial recourse in this territory. We can’t pretend it’s1958 any more. The owners of these malls that attract recurring crime are culpable in that they can’t be bothered to do the obvious, even after prior violent muggings, purse snatchings, and various knife and ice pick attacks.
Just as how the witness that was suppose to give evidence when he killed Mr Yates, none will give evidence on his killing.
What goes around comes around.
Hope the police do pick up more people in regards this gang matter,drugs, gungs, who has more balls, girls and car situation.
Cayman is downgrading by the minute.
We all need to stand and unite as one.
Make up your mind, you want us to stand united as one, but you are happy about the fact that no witness will come forward. My mind tell me you are confused.
Not confused. Process of elimination. Time longer then rope.
actually he is saying you were not united when they were supposed to give evidence when he killed someone why now?
The problem we have is that far too many people are standing united with the criminal element of Cayman and adhering to a gang land no snitch mantra. Our goal should be to encourage an annexation of this element and remove them completely from our society. This is not going to happen from eyewitness evidence. We need the HD video that is either absent or not working.