Black Immigrant Daily News

The teenager who confessed to killing his father, Reverend Garnett Foster Snr, after allegedly researching for two months on how to kill his parents, is to spend a minimum of 10 years in jail for the murder.

Garnett Foster Jr, said to be aged between 18 and 19, was sentenced by High Court Judge, Justice Courtney Daye, when he appeared in the Home Circuit Court in downtown Kingston on Friday.

Daye sentenced the teenager to 15 years in prison.

He was, however, ordered to serve 10 years in prison before being eligible for parole consideration.

According to Daye, the motive for the murder appeared to be the teenager’s resistance to his father’s authority.

During the reading of a social enquiry report, it was heard that Foster Jr researched how to kill his parents for months in advance of the deadly incident.

The report also revealed that the teen confessed to the killing, and he admitted that he should have listened to his father.

Foster Jr had been pulled by his father from Manning’s High School after allegedly joining a gang at the school and engaging in the smoking of marijuana and drinking. This further caused a strain in the relationship with his parents, who the teen both accused of interfering in his life.

Foster Jr’s attorney, Dionne Meyler Barrett, told the court prior to his sentencing that her client had an altercation with his father, during which he (the father) beat him. The teen then grabbed a knife and swung it.

Meyler Barrett said her client had indicated that he did not know where the weapon had lodged, and It was only afterwards that he realised that the weapon had landed in Foster Snr’s neck.

The attorney contended that her client loved his father and was remorseful about his actions.

Foster Snr, a 45-year-old resident of Bullet Tree district in Petersfield, Westmoreland, was the pastor of the Church of God of the Mountain Assembly in the parish.

It was reported that on July 23 this year, the teenager alerted family members who resided elsewhere, that his father was hurt.

Foster Snr was later found with a stab wound to the neck.

He was transported to the hospital, where he later died.

The teenager was taken into custody shortly after, and was subsequently charged with murder.

He pleaded guilty in the Westmoreland Circuit Court on July 26.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

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Black Immigrant Daily News

As the government of Antigua and Barbuda continues to aggressively improve the supply of water to consumers, Prime Minister the Hon. the Honourable Gaston Browne, last week met with the Honourable Robert Abela, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Malta to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen technical cooperation between the two countries.

The MoU aims to establish a capacity-building programme for Strategy and Technical personnel at the Antigua and Barbuda Public Utilities Authority (APUA). The programme will comprise of a Pilot Leakage Management Project in isolated water supply zones within the municipal water distribution network. This should result in the development of a holistic and comprehensive leakage Identification, Management and Control strategy. By virtue of this signed MoU, the Government of Malta will provide support for training visits.

Prior to the official signing of the MoU, both leaders candidly exchanged best practices for Water Management Strategies to include production, recycling, and conservation. Prime Minister Abela openly shared Malta’s experience in water infrastructure development to increase production and improve distribution. From his experience, PM Browne welcomed his solutions and iterated that Antigua and Barbuda experiences significant challenges in the water supply that he is eager to address. “If left unattended, the repercussion would be too great. It would mean a plummet in food production and an uptick in food prices that are exacerbated by global crises such as climate change, pandemics, and the Russia-Ukraine war”, said PM Browne.

After the signing, the leaders re-engaged on a plethora of issues that Small Island Development States (SIDS) face. This includes structural vulnerabilities, lack of scale economies, climate change, and decline in the economy owning to global risks and threats. Despite these perilous threats to SIDS, Prime Minister Browne concluded the talks on a positive note by emphasizing SIDS’ fortitude and resilience, forging partnerships on the international platform.

Prime Minister Browne was accompanied by the Hon. E.P. Chet Greene, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Trade, Ambassador Aubrey Webson, Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the UN, Ambassador Conrod Hunte, Deputy Permanent Representative and Mr. Tumasie Blair, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Antigua and Barbuda to the United Nations in New York.

The Hon. Robert Abela, Prime Minister of Malta was accompanied by the  Hon. Chris Fearne, Deputy Prime Minister of Malta and Minister for Health;  H.E. Vanessa Frazier, Ambassador – Permanent Representative of Malta to United Nations;  Dr. Michael Farrugia, Member of Parliament;  Mr. Glenn Micallef, Chief of Staff of Prime Minister of Malta;  and Ms. Francesca Cassar, First Secretary – Economic & Development Coordinator, Permanent Mission of Malta to United Nations.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Popular blogger, Leon ‘Leegates’ McNeil, was shot and killed at a party in Hayes, Clarendon on Saturday night, hours after he commented on an earlier double murder that was committed the same day in the parish.

The 36-year-old is the founder and owner of Leegates TV and Entertainment, which has covered several events in Clarendon, including the funeral of the woman and her four children who were slain in June in Cocoa Piece in the parish.

In relation to the killing in Hayes on Saturday, the Hayes police reported that about 8:55 pm on Saturday, McNeil was at a party when a group of men allegedly came up and opened gunfire at him.

When the shooting subsided, another man was found suffering from gunshot wounds.

Both injured persons were assisted to the hospital, where McNeil succumbed to his injuries and the other man was admitted in stable condition.

Police are theorising that McNeil and the injured man were in the wrong place at the wrong time, as gangsters may have been the intended targets of the attackers.

McNeil, in a video earlier on Saturday, which was posted hours before his death, decried the state of shootings across the country while he travelled in his motor vehicle.

“Two man succumbed to dem injuries. A swear mi nuh know wah gwaan. So much shootings. Mi nuh know why so much… tings ah gwaan in ah dem time yah.

“We need God. Mi a wonder if nobody nuh fear God again,” the blogger lamented.

“It is heart-wrenching, it is heart-breaking. Why so much shootings ah gwaan?” he questioned.

He was reacting to news earlier on Saturday that a taxi operator and a passenger were shot and killed by a gunman posing as a passenger on the Portland Cottage main road in Clarendon.

Those deceased are: 39-year-old Derrick Matthews, otherwise called ‘Red Fox’, a taxi operator of Wildman Town, Portland Cottage; and 47-year-old Michael Newland of Board Villa, Lionel Town, both in Clarendon.

Reports are that about 4:10 pm, Matthews was transporting Newland and another man in his vehicle.

On reaching a section of the Portland Cottage main road, Matthews pulled the vehicle over to let off the other man, who had asked for a stop.

Further reports are that the man pulled a firearm and shot both Matthews and Newland. The culprit then fled the scene.

The police were alerted to the area and both men were seen with multiple gunshot wounds inside the vehicle.

They were subsequently pronounced dead at hospital.

On learning about those killings, McNeil took to Facebook live to urge his followers to be “careful out there because a whole heap a tings a gwaan an a whole heap a people involve in some tings.”

Social media users have been reacting with shock, and have largely expressed their sorrow at the news that McNeil, more popularly referred to as Leegates, had been a victim of rampant criminality that he had earlier decried.

“This is so terrible… I just start following him after the funeral of the mother and her kids in Clarendon,” said Skyy Miller, a Facebook user.

“Lee Lee, my heart is broken. I did not expect this news at all… To his family, my deepest condolences,” wrote Jagmiso Biggs in reference to McNeil’s murder.

Another Facebook user, Rajiv Bayley, wrote: “It was great working with you bro, we have worked on so many projects. It was a joy to see you campaign to help poor people and the people in need.

“You will always be remembered Kramp Dem Billgates Leegates TV as a GENERAL and a POOR PEOPLE DEFENDER,” Bayley added.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Charlene Goddard will represent Barbados in the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games [CAC] following her recent performance at the Copa Merengue CAC qualifier world ranking event.

The competition, which was hosted at Pabell?n de Arquer?a, Parque del Este in Santo Domingo, took place from September 6 to September 11, 2022.

Speaking to Loop Sports, 28-year-old Goddard said that she was feeling conflicted about her performance.

“I have mixed emotions about my performance,” she explained. “I struggled a bit to settle down in the qualification round and it resulted in me not shooting a score I would have liked, but I picked myself back up in eliminations and felt better about my performance during then.”

The Medical Laboratory Technologist who works at Bayview Laboratory in Belleville, St Michael revealed that she not only placed second in the CAC qualifier, but also ninth in a world ranking event against over 100 competitors.

“I competed in two competitions while I was there. One being the CAC qualifier which I placed second overall and opened a Senior Compound female slot for Barbados. The second was a world ranking event in which I placed ninth overall.”

Goddard, who is an experienced archer having been shooting for over 15 years, disclosed that this was not her first time competing abroad, however, the weather conditions in the Dominican Republic were something she had never experienced before.

“I have been competing overseas for quite some time. My last competition would have been a world ranking shoot in Medellin Colombia last year May, which I would have finished fourth overall. There hasn’t been much difference with competing at different competitions. The only thing I can think about is the weather. Some countries I have competed in have been freezing while others, for example Dominican Republic, was extremely hot, I have never experienced heat like that in my life.”

Currently, Goddard is focusing on training for the CAC games with her eyes set on the 2023 Pan American Qualifier as well.

“I would like to attend the Pan American Qualifier next year. I am unsure of dates but for now, I am mainly focusing on my training for the CAC games.”

Looking ahead with determination, she took a moment to thank her family and friends who play an important role in her archery career. “My coach, family, husband and friends, each one of them play an important role in my archery career.” She added, “They are always proud of me no matter the outcome.”

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