Missing $10k theft suspect won’t be forced back

| 13/02/2015 | 40 Comments
Cayman News Service

Arthur Screaton

(CNS): A former bar manager at a George Town waterfront spot who jumped bail almost three years ago will not be extradited from his hiding place in the United States. Former Cayman resident Arthur Screaton was located in the US by the Cayman authorities after disappearing in 2012 while on bail facing charges of stealing over $10,850 from Rackham’s and related businesses at the end of 2010.

Crown prosecutor, Toyin Slako, told the court Friday that despite knowing exactly where the suspect is, the director of public prosecutions had made the decision not to bring back the Canadian national via an extradition process and that he had refused to return voluntarily.  The attorney did not say why the DPP had opted not to pursue an extradition case for the 55-year-old man but it is understood that the cost involved may outweigh the public interest in pursuing Screaton.

The former Rackham’s bar manager had been given permission to travel to Colorado while on bail to visit family, even though he is a foreign national, because he had been in Cayman for more than 16 years at the time with strong ties to the community. However, he never returned.

In August last year a CNS reader living in the US told us where Screaton was and where he was working. That information was passed on to the police, including the name of the town in Colorado and the restaurant where he was working.

Screaton was facing two counts of theft and false accounting relating to the theft of more than $10,000 from the downtown bar, charges he had denied before he absconded in March 2012, facing trial that September. At the time the cash went missing, Screaton was managing Lone Star bar, Carlos and Martin’s restaurant and Rackam’s.

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Comments (40)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Arthur Screaton is suspected of being a THIEF,,,,,,when he was here and people mingled with him he seemed a “likeable guy”…..and DPP isn’t bothering to extradite him because its’s expensive? Oh my dear Lord……would y’all just be quiet!! No comment here is worth two-cents and that includes this one……..LOL. We didn’t have any option to offer the young Caymanian who got convicted for $800 but we got option for the EXPAT. SUSPECTED THIEF………double-standards in how laws are applied has always been the norm here= One gor US – Caymanians and another route for the expat!! Only us can change that !!

    • Anonymous says:

      I see your point if you are not driftwood you can legally gamble hundreds of thousands of tax payers money at casinos or fill up your car all your families cars and your boat with free fuel if you have a gas boy card with no rammifications. Your right one set of laws for expats another for locals.

  2. Anonymous says:

    He was on Island for 16 years. He is qualified to be a ” paper Caymanian” .

  3. Anonymous says:

    Why am I not surprised that so many are supportive of Mr Screaton; I guess it has to do with the fact that he is not Caymanian,and the majority of commenters on this site as well as the Compass Online site seem to be expat.This sort of bias was so evident when the story was about a Caymanian insulting an expat (status grantee) when we had expats by the hundreds calling for the head of Mr Bodden.In the most recent incident when a Caymanian was insulted by an expat,the silence is deafening .I guess these individuals suffer from the “Animal Farm mentality” and have a motto that reads something like this ‘All persons are created equal,but Caymanians are less equal than others’.Then they have the nerve to call Caymanians bigots.Sad, real sad.Please note that this refers to the expats who usually comment on here and not to the others.

    • Anonymous says:

      Go back to sleep

    • 1111 says:

      I gave this some thought as to why I was initially supportive of this guy and I came to the conclusion that it was because in every interaction with him he came across as a likeable, honest guy, and I think most people who met him would probably agree. I don’t know if he’s guilty or if he’s avoiding the disasterous legal system we have. I do think that there must have been some reason for the DPP laying charges, and for him absconding. As for Ozzie, my comment now, as then, is he launched a tirade of abuse in a public place over Government not picking up part of his personal phone bill, the other guy swore at an employee over a budget issue in a closed meeting, one apologised, one didn’t. I’ve given two different reasons as to why the different views expressed, I don’t know if my version is any more real than yours, but it’s the one I want to believe.

    • Anonymous says:

      Oh dear, a little paranoid it seems. When you look at at the expat point of view it’s the complete reverse, rules to trip us all up whilst certain elements of Cayman blatantly don’t see how laws apply to them.

    • Anonymous says:

      We Caymanians have the same access to this sites as anyone else in the world, we just do not care to air our voices. Pleas, speak for yourself, you embarrass me, i guess all countries got their own clown, you are the local one…

  4. Robert says:

    If this man is Canadian ? the only way he can work in the states is to have a green card / in order to have and Keep your green card one must have a Clean record , wanna mess with him ? email american customs and immigration ,

    • Anonymous says:

      Your thinking of “wanna mess with him” In first world countries they investigate the complainer first So b4 you go messin think about what the outcome may be.
      That said UNNA is sick and bad minded Your use your friends in office mentality to do your bidding is what is causing cayman its problems

  5. Anonymous says:

    What about all the money missing and unappropriated by government? This is like straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. Our justice system should be ashamed of itself. We have bigger criminals drawing salaries from the public purse.
    Sensationalist bullshit journalism at its best.

  6. Anonymous says:

    Anon @ 8:33pm ~~ yes justice delayed is justice denied BUT so is it when its a CAYMANIAN who has no other country to run to and hide from JUSTICE. This is a blatant travesty of justice to the others waiting patiently for YEARS for their day in Court!! In my opinion for you to give credance to this suspected thief makes you just as rotten. Just my opinion and two-cents!

  7. Honest John says:

    What’s new ? Many, many people have gone back to Honduras (which we do not have an extradition treaty with) to escape punishment

  8. Anonymous says:

    Sends the wrong message altogether!! Very sad indeed. Meanwhile young Caymanian steals less tan $1k and ends up in jail with a record that will impact them forever.

    • Anonymous says:

      two wrongs do not make a right. the fact that it will cost Cayman more money to bring him down that the actual need to punish him is reason enough to stop this. if a caimanian or non caimanian steals he or she should pay for it but every case is different. you racist comment shows your quality as a human being.

    • Anonymous says:

      because they usually stick a gun in someones face, or go happy hacky with a machete when they do it

    • Driftwood says:

      Ah, that will explain it-its OK to steal if you are Caymanian…great theory…

  9. Anonymous says:

    I believe that since Mr Screaton has refused to return, a trial date should be set ,and if he does not appear he should be convicted and sentenced in absentia.This information should then be passed on to authorities in the US so Mr Arthur is now known as a criminal,and not get away with a clean record as seems to be the case at present.If he is unhappy with the conviction ,then he can come back for an appeal.Of course that might cost him a lot more than the original case would have. A warrant should then be issued for his arrest and passed on to Interpol.This man should not be allowed to get away scott free without any blemish on his record,simply because he refused to show up for trial. This case ,along with the case of the lady who allegedly stole from a local charitable organisation who left and was never charged and therefore still has a clean record, smacks of double standards and the DPP should be compelled to clarify the situation.

    • Anonymous says:

      Your words strongly suggest that you assume he is guilty. A founding principal of our legal system is that you are assumed innocent until proven guilty. Another poster provides a realistic suggestion as to why he may have moved on with his life without waitng for our horrendously clogged legal system to deal with the matter. Justice delayed is justice denied.

      • Anonymous says:

        Since he has refused to return to clear his name ,one is free to draw the inference that he is guilty.Again I repeat ,’Mr Arthur,come back and clear your name ,or your refusal should be used against you,to gain a conviction in your absence”.

        • Anonymous says:

          You forget that as driftwood while you wait 5 years to clear your name, you are unable to work and have to survive off assistance from friends, living on couches or the streets as you have no source of income and then after losing 5 years of your life the police drop the case due to lack of evidence the night before the trial

          • Anonymous says:

            He was given a chance to leave,with the understanding that he would return;he has refused to return.

  10. Anonymous says:

    Good, this whole thing stank from day one.

  11. Convicted Caymanians No Excuse says:

    Yes Caymanians need to learn different strokes for different folks this foreign law enforcement apparatus is only here for us Comprendi!!! Well Caymanians the next time you steal, please advise them its not in the public interest to persecute you. I seriously doubt that will work, but it’s worth trying uncle Arthurs excuse which should now be a Precedent in law. Northward Prison was design and built to house Caymanians and we should never ever forget it. Aaaaaaah boy this little place we call home.

  12. Anonymous says:

    This is yet another example of the failure of the rule of law in the country. Pensions ect. everyone knows

  13. Anonymous says:

    Would be nice if they told interpol that they decided to not pursue him…..

  14. Anonymous says:

    Can’t believe this about Mr Arthur such a nice man – but anything is possible

  15. Driftpat says:

    Ohh, I thought crime was not supposed to pay! Grab and travel, no prosecution! Incentive programme for crooks!!

  16. Anonymous says:

    I wonder if he was offered a plea to get the matter off the books .
    That said the DPP is overworked Imagine having to read jibber jabber reports from investigators that have no education or proper training and then have to make a case of it.

  17. Anonymous says:

    So this man is ACCUSED of being the responsible party of some unaccounted funds in three cash based businesses.

    An amount by the way which your average beach bartender drinks himself, or passes over the bar to friends in a typical year.

    So he loses his job, is basically unemployable now in his industry, waits for what… 15 months and still no trial date is set. Decides, “should i wait for another year and go deeper and deeper into debt for my opportunity to clear my name or should i get the heck out of here and on with my life.”

    Way to go Arthur, way to go.

    • Anonymous says:

      Bet you would not be saying”good job Arthur’ if it was your $10,000.I can’t believe that you also make light of the fact that the average bartender is stealing or giving away an average of $833 of his/her bosses funds.Makes me believe that you are likely to do something similar.

      • Anonymous says:

        You are correct. I apologize. I should have said the average civil servant with access to a gas boy card.

        BTW, how is that going, did we extradite anyone back to face justice on this or are they all back to work like nothing happened?

  18. Anonymous says:

    “The cost of extradition may outweigh the public’s interest”? Really?? Really??
    So can we do the same when it is Caymanians who abscond?
    After all we spend $65K per prisoner per year don’t we and with all the social ills and homelessness and teen pregnancies we could disburse that $65K to other areas eh?
    NO DPP here’s a shocker:- IT WON’T OUTWEIGH THE PUBLIC INTEREST.
    You see in Cayman we EXPECT all foreigners who’s a THIEF to rub time at HMP like the Caymanian who is rubbing time for $800. In Cayman we like things even for the foreigner and Caymanian as that means BOTH have convictions. But then again, where’s the Caymanian in your office?? DPP, we really don’t expect unna to do better because as usual Caymanians are always on the short-end of the stick!! Giving permission to a foreign national accused of theft because he been yah 16 years? What part of “foreign national” was like oil on a duck’s back?

  19. Anonymous says:

    And you wonder why the good people of these Islands have growing disdain for the authorities who prove time after time that crime really does pay!

    • Anonymous says:

      No, 5:07, for once the DPP is correct. It’s not worth the expense. This man’s career can be compromised and his personal life embarrassed nowadays by social media and letting his local media know what he went on with here. That should shaft him good and proper. Hopefully our authorities will make it known what a creep this bail jumping crook is.

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