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MURDERED: Emiro Baynes who was found shot to death in Tobago. –

AN EMPLOYEE of T&T Ferry Services was shot and killed by gunmen while driving his car along Belmont Farm Road, Mason Hall, early on Thursday. The victim has been identified as Trinidadian Emero Baynes who is Tobago’s fifth murder victim for this year.

Police said that at around 4.15 am, the Tobago Operational Command Centre received a report of an accident along Belmont Farm Road.

Officers from the Emergency Response Patrol responded along the Emergency Health Services and Fire Services.

Baynes was found slumped over the steering wheel of a white Hyundai Sonata, with several gunshot wounds to his head and other parts of his body.

Officers from the Criminal Records Office processed the scene, which was visited by CMO Dr Kumar. The body was removed to the Scarborough General Hospital mortuary.

Police visiting the scene included Insps Prince, Bacchus and Joefield and Sgts Yorke and Jones. Baynes was said to be living in the Pleasant Prospect area, near Black Rock. He was believed to have been heading to work when the shooting occurred.

On Thursday, passengers who interacted with Baynes during their trips to and from Trinidad on board the APT James said they were shocked and saddened by his death.

Tobago artiste and reigning heritage monarch Shamika Denoon described him as charming. “Everytime, I boarded the ferry with my daughter, you were always there to give her good cheer,” she said on her WhatsApp status.

“One of the best workers on the T&T Ferry Service, rest in peace Emiro. This is really sad.”

Another female passenger said in a Facebook post that Baynes seated her on the vessel earlier this week.

Investigations are continuing.

Commenting on the killing, economist Anslem Richards said reports of murders with firearms must be of serious concern to Tobagonians, given the size of the island. He said details of Baynes’ killing was still sketchy.

Economist Anslem Richards. –

“He was a well-known employee on T&T Ferry Services. We don’t know what he was involved in and we don’t want to make any assumptions about his activities that may have generated this kind of end result.

“But I think we have a duty and responsibility to ensure that the police, with the support from the community, remove illegal firearms from the streets of Trinidad and Tobago,” Richards said.

He reiterated that security at the ports also must be improved to prevent the transshipment of guns.

He added there must also be purposeful interventions for young people who are inclined to get involved in underworld activities.

“There must be affirmative action, especially among our young males. And the THA has to pay some attention to that, especially in collaboration with the central government, to provide the resources to get that kind of affirmative action almost immediately.”

Richards said if these measures are not implemented, crime will escalate, “especially in the current inflationary and unemployment situation that we are facing as a country.

“So we have to ensure that we stabilise the socio-economic environment and do the kind of human development intervention that is necessary to recede the kind of criminal activity that normally happens in a time of economic depression and social contraction.”

THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine has spoken out against Tobago’s crime situation.

After the death of artiste N’Kosi Bovell, aka Fari Dan, who was shot in a bar in Scarborough on May 15, he had told reporters, “This is not the Tobago we know. Every murder is shocking and alarming to us and I don’t want us to be desensitised. It is something that we have to treat with rather quickly.”

Augustine said then crime is mostly a social issue that must be addressed with a concerted effort focusing on young men.

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Following an online news report about the recent closure of Ellis Thomas Downs, government issued a statement last week denying that it cancelled a lease granted to the Thomas family that owns much of the horse track land.

However, the facility remains closed, with no re-opening date projected.

The closure was first announced in a Sept. 8 press release from the Ministry of Education and Culture, despite a horse race scheduled for 10 days later.

Few details were provided in the release, which was peppered with legal jargon and advised the public not to use the track.

But on Sept. 14, Virgin Islands News Online quoted a Thomas family member who reportedly claimed the government had “unilaterally” cancelled its contract with the landowners. She also reportedly said the family had received threats because of the closure.

Attempts to reach the family member were not immediately successful, but on Sept. 15 government said it is commitment to resolving “all outstanding issues” with the family as negotiations continue.

“In these circumstances, it is not the government’s intention to engage in any protracted public debate on issues which are likely to arise during the negotiations,” the statement noted. “Indeed, government considers that to do so at this stage may well be counterproductive or prejudicial. This notwithstanding, following the statements to the press by the Thomas family, government considers it necessary to publicly respond in an effort to bring clarity to certain matters for the record.”

Gov’t perspective

The statement went on to explain that a meeting with the Thomas family took place on Sept. 8, mainly to discuss a rent review.

However, government added, Premier Dr. Natalio “Sowande” Wheatley and other ministers had to excuse themselves shortly after the meeting began “due to certain developments concerning” the late Queen Elizabeth II, who died that day.

After they left, members of the Attorney General’s Chambers and ministry officers responsible for Crown lands continued the meeting, according to government.

“At the meeting, the government representatives did not ‘cancel’ the lease with the Thomas family,” the statement claimed. “Rather, fundamental legal issues were raised, and ultimately the Thomas family indicated that they would not allow further use of their property. The family stated this to be a non-negotiable position, and the government accepted.”

That evening, government issued a notice advising the public not to use the property until further notice.

The statement last Thursday did not provide a timeline for the possible re-opening of the track, but it did condemn the alleged threats against the Thomas family.

“We expect that any such threats will be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law,” the statement added.

Cancelled race

The closure resulted in the cancellation of a Sept. 18 race, which had been postponed from Sept. 4 due to inclement weather, Horse Owners’ Association President Lesmore Smith told the Beacon last week.

Mr. Smith declined to comment on the land issue, and he said he didn’t know how long the closure would last.

“I’ll just wait on the outcome and see how soon it may or may not be resolved to move forward, but I hope it will move forward in the interest of all people involved,” he said.

He added that many horse owners support their horses with revenues earned from the races.

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Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Paula Llewellyn, is recommending that Rushane ‘Jett’ Barnett, the man who killed his female cousin and her four children in Cocoa Piece, Clarendon in June of this year, should be sentenced to life imprisonment instead of receiving the death penalty.

“The crown is obliged to remove the death penalty as an option,” said Llewellyn at Barnett’s sentencing hearing in the Home Circuit Court in downtown Kingston on Thursday.

The DPP’s decision was announced after a forensic psychiatrist’s assessment of Barnett had indicated that he lacked remorse and empathy relative to the killings.

He told the psychiatrist that voices in his head had nudged him to carry out the killings.

“Rushane Barnett admits to killing the five persons, but claims voices in his head forced him to do so.

“He has no prior reported history of psychopathy, but claims he had been hearing voices since age 18 years,” the psychiatrist said in a report that was quoted in court.

Despite those revelations, the psychiatrist said the Trelawny native was fit to stand trial or to be pleaded on the criminal charges that were laid against him.

“Based on Rushane Barnett’s report and history, he was not influenced by any abnormality of the mind at the alleged offence.

“He understands the nature of the offence, but describes the incident as a result of obeah rescuing him and forcing him to act. He has no major illness, but displayed antisocial personality traits,” the report outlined.

During the audio streaming of the hearing online, Llewellyn explained that despite the lack of remorse on the convict’s part, and the viciousness of the crime, the death penalty would not be pursued.

“Everyone who pleads guilty is entitled to some amount of credit,” the island’s top prosecutor said, adding that that legal position essentially eliminates the death penalty in Barnett’s case.

In July, Barnett entered guilty pleas to five counts of murder in relation to the killings of Kimesha Wright, 31, and her children: Kimanda Smith, 15; Sharalee Smith, 10; Rafaella Smith, five; and 23-month-old Kishawn Henry Jr.

However, Llewellyn has asked that in addition to the mandatory life sentence, the 23-year-old man should serve 60 years and nine months in prison for each count of murder before being eligible for parole consideration.

She recommended that the sentences should run concurrently.

Llewellyn pointed to the ages of Wright’s children, the findings of the forensic psychiatric report, among other factors, which guided her recommendations for sentencing.

But Barnett’s attorney, Tamika Harris, told presiding judge, Justice Leighton Pusey, that he should dismiss Llewellyn’s recommendation that Barnett should not benefit from a discount in his overall sentence.

“He (Barnett) has saved the court’s time and resources,” said Harris as she asked the judge to give Barnett a 33 1/3 per cent discount in his overall sentence.

Harris also requested that the judge’s starting point for determining the parole period should be 45 years, instead of the 60 that was recommended by Llewellyn.

“… Sentencing him (Barnett) to one million years is not going to solve the underlying problems that we have in society,” Harris argued during her submissions.

Pusey has delayed Barnett’s sentencing until October 20, in order to consider the submissions that were made on Wednesday by both the prosecution and the defence.

The convict was further remanded in police custody until that date.

The killing of the five family members reportedly occurred between the night of June 20 and the early morning of June 21. The victims were found with stab wounds and their throats slashed.

At a subsequent court hearing where Barnett pleaded guilty, it was heard that he felt disrespected by Wright in front of customers some days before the killings.

In all, the five family members received a total of 95 incised wounds to their bodies – all inflicted by the convict.

The youngest among the four, little Kishawn, had 11 incised wounds, inclusive of a wound to the neck, which the doctor described as a cut throat injury, the post-mortem report said.

Barnett made his first appearance in the Home Circuit Court a week after the murders, where the prosecution served him a copy of a Death Penalty Notice that it filed in the Supreme Court ahead of his trial.

That intention of seeking the death penalty for Barnett was subsequently withdrawn.

Last week, the Wilson Run, Trelawny native was charged with several offences relative to allegedly assaulting a female police officer at the Half-Way Tree lockup. He is expected to answer to those charges in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court.

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