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Palm Beach middle school teacher wanted on child porn charges

A Palm Beach County middle school teacher is wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on child pornography charges, the agency has reported.

The FBI has identified the teacher as Corey Dejuan Perry, 33, who taught at H.L. Watkins Middle School in Palm Beach Gardens. Perry has gone into hiding after FBI agents conducted a search of his home on Friday. The agents seized computers and other devices that implicated the accused rogue teacher.

Officials say Perry posed as a girl and tricked boys into sending him explicit photographs and video footage of themselves via electronic mail or social media.

Police suspect some students at the middle school appear to be victims.

Authorities say Perry is the subject of a federal arrest warrant for production of child pornography and receipt of child pornography and enticement. The school district has since suspended Perry.

The FBI said Perry was last seen in West Palm Beach five days ago. Authorities are urging the public to call 911 if they see him.

The FBI says if any parent or guardian believes their children had electronic or social media contact with Perry, they’re asked to call authorities and preserve the content as possible evidence.

Mother jailed for failing to report sexual molestation of daughter

A Jamaican mother who police accuse of failing the report the sexual molestation of her 13-year-old daughter, has been arrested and charged.

The 45-year-old mother, Lerraine Mills of a Bog Walk, St Catherine address, has been slapped with a charge of failing to report the matter to the Office of the Children’s Registry and the police.

Mills was arrested after the police were informed that a man who was painting her house had molested her young daughter. The man was arrested and after a probe by officers from the Center for the Investigation of Sexual Offense and Child Abuse (CISOCA), she was charged.

She was brought to the St Catherine Parish Court on March 30 and was ordered to return to court in April.

The sexual abuse of girls under the age of 16 has been under the public microscope since last year’s arrest and charge of Moravian pastor 64-year-old Rupert Clarke, who was found on a dirt track in St Elizabeth in an compromising position with an underage girl. Clarke has since been slapped with another charge after it was unearthed that he also had sex with the sister of the girl he was caught with and is rumored to have fathered a child with her.

He is now out on $500,000 bail and has been suspended from pastoral duties.

Earlier this month, a Pentecostal City Mission Church pastor Paul Hanniford, was sentenced to 20 years for having sex with a 13-year-old girl. Hanniford was convicted after evidence was tendered in court that he took the child and her younger brother to his home and gave the boy meal before having intercourse with the child in a room.

The victim’s brother reportedly peeped through a keyhole and saw the act. He made a report to his mother who in turn reported the matter to church elders. The dissatisfied mother then went to the police after not getting justice from church elders.

Miami-Dade Court rule against Miami Beach minimum wage ordinance

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Peter Lopez  has ruled in favor of a joint lawsuit filed by a coalition of Florida businesses supported by state Attorney General Pam Bondi, against a City of Miami Beach 2016 ordinance increasing that city’s minimum wage.

Last year the commission voted to increase the city’s minimum wage to $10.31 effective January 1, 2018 and incrementally by $1 annually until January 1, 2021 to $13.31 per hour.  The rates set by the ordinance is significantly higher than Florida’s current minimum wage of $8.10 per hour.

Subsequent to passing the ordinance, the city drew the ire of a coalition of powerful businesses including the Florida Retail Association, Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association and Florida Chamber of Commerce. Last December the organizations filed a joint lawsuit to block the city ordinance. The lawsuit claimed the ordinance was unconstitutional as the minimum wage it created could not supersede minimum wage set by the state.

The plaintiffs also argued the increase in the city’s minimum wage would create hardships for the member businesses of the respective organizations.

While the plaintiffs hailed the ruling – handed down on Tuesday as “great news for Florida retailers and the entire business community,” Miami Beach’s attorneys said they will appeal immediately to the Florida Supreme Court. The City argues that a Florida 2004 constitutional amendment which authorized the state to set its minimum wage higher than the federal rate also allows municipalities to set rates higher than the state.

City of Miami Beach City attorney, Robert Rosenwald, issued a statement indicating the city wants the Florida Supreme Court to   intervene to “reverse the circuit court’s misreading’ of the ordinance. The attorney said the court “simply got it wrong.”

Although Florida’s minimum wage is 85 cents higher than the current federal minimum wage, it’s still significantly below the living wage of $10.10 determined by various local economist. For several years, efforts by lawmakers on the Florida Legislature, supported by local trade unions, to raise the state minimum to coincide with a living wage have failed.

The primary proponent of the City of Miami Beach minimum wage ordinance Mayor Phillip Levine, a Democrat who is reported planning to campaign for Florida Governor when incumbent Governor Rick Scott terms out in 2018, decried the Miami-Dade Circuit Court’s ruling.

“While I am extremely disappointed in today’s ruling against Florida families, we expected that this case would ultimately end up before the Florida Supreme Court,” Levine said. “Our legal team is working on a swift appeal to ensure the will of Floridians expressed through the 2004 state constitutional amendment on minimum wage is fully implemented.”

In response, Helene O’Brien Florida District Leader of one of the nation’s largest unions said – “Laws that pre-empt us from addressing wage inequality and poverty in our communities are nothing more than a power grab by politicians and their wealthy backers. We unequivocally stand behind the rights of local governments, like the City of Miami Beach, to decide how best to address the needs of the constituents that they serve.”

 

Marley brothers to perform together for the first time in 20 years for Kaya Fest

Reggae King Bob Marley’s five sons, Julian, Stephen, Ziggy, Damian and Ky-Mani will perform on one stage for the first time in 20 years at the upcoming Kaya Fest.

The historic coming together of the Marley siblings was made possible by Stephen Marley who is producing the concert to be staged at Bayfront Park Amphitheatre, 301 Biscayne Blvd. in downtown Miami, on Saturday, April 22, 2017.

Between them the Marley brothers have won most of the Reggae Grammy awards and it is fitting that they should be performing at a concert which will be highlighting the virtues of cannabis, a plant revered by Rastafarians and made even more popular via a single penned and vocalized by their father, entitled Kaya.

There will be other Marleys on show in the form of Marley’s grandson, Skip Marley and Jo Merca Marley, grandchildren of the Reggae legend.

Kaya Fest will also feature special appearances by Ms. Lauryn Hill, Sean Paul, Hip-Hop legend Wyclef Jean, Reggae group Inner Circle and Shacia Payne.

The organizers of Kaya Fest will use the occasion to educate the public to the many uses of the cannabis plant as well as to inspire and encourage positive public awareness especially since more and more states are approving the use of medical marijuana, such as Florida where it just became legal this past year.

A Free Symposium titled “Education Before Recreation” will feature a panel of experts who are on the forefront of education and regulation in the state of Florida.  The Symposium will be discussing the many uses of the Cannabis plant as well as the new Florida laws relating to it.  It will be held on Friday, April 21st from Noon to 4PM at the Miami History Museum.

Nicky Minaj breaks Aretha Franklin’s Billboard record

Trinidadian-born rapper Nicki Minaj is now the woman with the most Hot 100 Billboard Hits in any genre. Minaj gained the distinction by overtaking Soul Diva Aretha Franklin on the Billboard Charts.

Franklin held the record for the last 40 years, until earlmid-March when Minaj drew level with her at 73 hits with her feature on Gucci Mane’s Make Love single.

The release of three singles No Frauds, Regret in Your Tears and Changed It with her label mates Lil Wayne and Drake, which charted at No. 14, 61 and 71 respectively, pushed her tally to 76 hits.

However Aretha Franklin still has the most hits as a lead artiste as most of Minaj’s hits are due to the fact that she is a featured vocalist on a song.

Minaj took to Instagram to show her gratitude and thank her fans:

“Man, I tell ya…God said he ain’t done showing off yet. Lol. Walked off stage to find out history was made yet again today… To my fans: I …. love you guys more than I’ll ever be able to put into words.”

Records fall freely at Champs 

After two days records were set and broken at the 107th staging of Inter Secondary Schools association (ISSA) Boys and Girls Championships at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica.

Petersfield High’s Devar Clayton chucked a new decathlon shot put record of 14.90 meters. The throw has placed Clayton in second position in the boys’ decathlon open after three events.

Clayton’s throw earned him 784 points and bettered the previous mark of 14.16m set last year by Kurt Goodlitt of Munro College. He has now progressed to 2223 points, just behind Kingston College’s Donovan Thames (2256 points), who ended second in the shot put with a mark of 12.87m.

On day one of the Championships, the class two 100 meters hurdles for girls fell twice. Britanny Anderson ran a smooth 13.37 seconds to erase the mark set a year ago by Peta Gaye Williams of Camperdown. Before the dust settled Holmwood Technical’s Shanette Allison, motored to a time of 13.30 seconds to wipe out Allison’s effort, but Allison too had barely enough time to celebrate as Aaliyah Wood of Edwin Allen bettered that time with a 13.92 seconds clocking.

Defending champion Daszay Freeman will have to dig deep to fend off the challenges of the young upstarts.

Then if the excitement was not enough, young St Jago High sprinter, Brianna Lyston, smashed the class four 200 meters record with a mind-boggling 24 seconds flat run. The 12-year-old Lyston had only clocked a personal best of 24.50 seconds before her record breaking sprint.

Kingston College and Edwin Allen have been touted as favorites for the boys and girls titles respectively.

Jamaica PM praises Grenada’s fiscal discipline

Andrew Holness

Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness has praised Grenada’s fiscal discipline as it implements a  home-grown structural adjustment programme with the support of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Holness , addressing the convention of the ruling New National Party on Sunday, said that reducing the debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio from 108 to 72 per cent in three years is a feat that has to be commended.

“From what I have read, and what has been reported, the fiscal discipline of your government has been exemplary.

The Jamaican leader said it is never easy for any country to go through a structural reform of its economy but encouraged Grenada not to give up on those reforms.

“For our economies, small island developing states, to survive in this changing world, our economies have to be more  efficient, they have to be more robust, they have to be more diverse, they have to be more resilient, and they have to be growing and growing and growing.”

He said the economic growth is “not just for the big people, they have to grow for the little people as well because economic growth starts at the root and the benefit of economic growth is that people must get jobs.”

Messi banned for four World Cup games after spat with referee

Its Wednesday, March 28. We are looking at some of the top stories across your Caribbean-American community. Welcome…….I’m……, and you’re watching CNW 90. Your coverage today is brought to you by Grace Soups. Spice up your kitchen with Grace soups today. Genuine Caribbean taste enjoyed worldwide.

The Barbados Government has lifted the ban imposed last Tuesday on the importation of corned beef from Brazil, after tests revealed “no concerns about the safety” of the product in that country. Senior Veterinary Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture Dr Mark Trotman today sanctioned the resumption of the importation and sale of the canned meat, citing that there was no evidence of contaminated corned beef entering Barbados.

Jamaica’s Ministry of National Security has upgraded two cell phone jammers at the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre, formerly known as the (General Penitentiary), where convicted dancehall DJ, Vybz Kartel, is currently serving his life sentence. The move is in keeping with a bid by the ministry to strengthen security in the nation’s correctional facilities through a special Technology Task Force. The jammers are expected to block incoming and outgoing calls from the maximum security facility..

A teenager who choked and slapped his female class prefect at a secondary school in Penal, Trinidad was lucky to have escaped her mother’s wrath. The angered woman chased the teenage boy who reportedly expressed no remorse for his actions and refused to go to the principal’s office. The offending teenager has been suspended for seven days.

And in sports…

Soccer superstar Lionel Messi has been banned by FIFA from Argentina’s next four World Cup qualifiers. The ban started with Tuesday’s game in Bolivia. Messi was banned for “having directed insulting words at an assistant referee” during a home qualifier against Chile on Thursday.

Here’s What’s trending

The attention of the Track and Field world are centered on Jamaica’s National Stadium as the 2017 edition of the Boys and Girls Championships got underway yesterday. The championships attract hosts of talent scouts and media from around the globe and is seen among track and field purists as one of the most watched athletics championships outside of the Olympics and World Championships.

For Tomorrow’s weather forecast

It will be mostly sunny in Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Broward Counties with a high of 84 and a low of 63. For more on these and other stories, visit us online at caribbeannewsweekly.com. Make sure to pick up your copy of the Caribbean News Weekly at your nearest Caribbean American outlet.

Trinidad and Tobago urged to call on FBI

With more than 100 murders committed across the twin island republic so far this year, former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj has called on the government to call on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI0 and Britain’s Scotland Yard, in an effort to help in the fight against crime.

“This in my view will send a signal to criminals that they will be caught if they commit murders and serious crimes,” Maharaj told journalists at a recent news conference.

“It is a time that calls for immediate action, but the present problem which strikes at the root of the criminal justice system and the rule of law is that murder and serious crimes are not being detected. The government must therefore focus on what is urgent  – which if not redressed, will subvert the rule of law,” he said.

The former attorney general, who served in the Basdeo Panday administration – when the last execution of convicted murdered was carried out in 1999, said the government must come to grips with the situation as quickly as possible  – and if not, the rule of law could be threatened.

Meanwhile, National Security Minister Edmund Dillon said the government believes a more “direct and strategic approach” is required to deal with the situation  particularly in Central Trinidad where rival gangs have been engaged in reprisal killings. He told the Senate on Tuesday that the principle of warfare calls for confrontation of force at the right time and place.

Since the last weekend, at least four people were shot and killed in the centre of the island. Earlier this year, members of a group calling itself “the Unruly ISIS” appeared in a video on social media warning of reprisal killings and claiming to have sophisticated weapons in their possession.

But Opposition Senator Wade Mark, says the government was incapable of dealing with the crime situation and said the National Security Minister “is incompetent and has to go”.

Immigration advocates strongly opposed to pending Florida immigration measures

For the second consecutive year, the Florida Legislature is attempting to enforce harsh actions against undocumented immigrants in the state, And, for the second consecutive year, the state’s immigration advocates are firmly pushing back against laws that could harshly affect undocumented immigrants.

There are currently three bills in the House which, if they advance to law, would add to difficulties faced by undocumented immigrants resulting from the escalated enforcement of federal immigration laws.

Similar bills in the Florida House and Senate, HB 697 and SB 786, proposes to make it illegal for any Florida city to provide sanctuary to undocumented immigrants. This proposal is similar to a recent White House executive order that prohibits sanctuary cities in the nation.

Two other similar bills (HB 83 and SB 120) proposes more severe penalties for crimes perpetuated by undocumented immigrants, compared to other residents.

Immigration advocates across the state, including the Florida Immigration Coalition led by Francesca Menes, consider the bills before the Legislature as unconstitutional. A crowd of these advocates travelled to State Capitol in Tallahassee to make known their protest over any pending legislation.  

Earlier this week the protestors, joined by Democrats who are members of the Florida Legislature, held a press conference to state more clearly the reason for their protest and presence in Tallahassee.

Menes speaking at the press conference said the advocates are tired for the immigrant community in Florida as if “we make no contribution to the state of Florida” when in fact the state’s large immigrant community play a vital role in building Florida’s economy. She and other advocates were emphatic in their statements that immigrants in Florida are here to stay.”

The advocates demanded that the legislature stop the progress of the respective bills as immigrants are “sick and tired of being threatened.”

Despite the protests and the opposition coming from Democrats in the House and the Senate, Republican lawmakers have not given any indication they will pull the bills, as they argue by being in the state without the required immigration documents, these immigrants have broken the law and should punished.

Trinidad and Tobago’s World Cup dream fading

Trinidad and Tobago’s dream of making a second World Cup appearance is fast becoming a nightmare after a listless 1-0 home loss to CONCACAF hexagonical group leaders Mexico on Tuesday.

Diego Reyes’ sealed victory for the Mexicans with a second-half header, to send his team clear on nine points. Trinidad and Tobago were regulated to cellar dwellers on three points as a result.

Reyes, scored his first international goal off a Miguel Layun corner.

The Mexicans were not without luck however as  a  first half strike by Trinidad and Tobago’s Joevin Jones was incorrectly ruled offside. Just after 30 minutes, Jones was sent through down the left and drove home from an acute angle, but the officials would have none of it.

Mexico gradually gained the ascendancy in the second half and semed to turn off the throttle after Reyes opened the scoring.

Mexico made five changes to the team which beat Costa Rica on Friday, while, the hosts made just one change, brining in Aubrey David to replace Carlos Edwards in defence.

The visitors went close to opening the scoring in the 18th minute when Hernandez and Raul Jimenez combined, but the former missed the target with his header.

In other CONCACAF qualifying matches the United States and Panama drew 1-1 and Honduras and Costa Rica finished with the same result.

Haiti kicked out of Gold Cup by late Barrera hat trick

Haiti seemed to have it all in the bag with 10 minutes to go in their CONCACAF Gold Cup Qualifier against Nicaragua in Managua on Tuesday.

With only 10 minutes to go the Central American hosts were down 3-1 on aggregate to the Caribbean team and a spot in the Gold Cup was within sight for the Haitians, but Juan Barrera had other ideas.

Barrera sent Nicaragua into the Gold Cup with a hat trick that effectively booted the first Caribbean country to qualify for the World Cup out.

The home team needed two goals to advance, but things began to look up for the Nicaraguans when they were awarded an 82nd minute penalty. Barrera stepped up to score and hand his team a ray of hope.

The goal seemed to knock the wind out of the Haitians who handed the Nicaraguans a second goal in the 88th minute after goalkeeper Steward Ceus lventured off his line to gather a high ball played into the area, but missed and allowed Barrera to score an opportunistic header.,

One minute later Barrera killed any hopes the Haitians had of clawing their way back when he beat the offside trap and made a beeline to goal before firing high and wide of the hapless Ceus.

Barrera will miss the next match however, as he received a second yellow card for removing his shirt during the celebrations and was ejected from the game.

Nicaragua will tackle the United States, Panama and Martinique in Group B when the regional tournament begins in the United States in July.

Karen Smith releases Rush

Karen Smith is one of Jamaica’s premier female jazz vocalists whose smooth vocals are always easy on the ear.

Smith has been pleasing audiences around the globe for decades and is aiming to continue the positive trend with the released of her latest album entitled Rush.

Coordinated by veteran producer, Willie Lindo, the musical offering is a combination of Smith’s personality and her vocal styling. According to Lindo the songstress is an excellent singer, whose personality shines through her music.

Lindo said he had no regrets spending hours and  several nights in the recording studio recording the artiste who has earned the reputation of ‘Jamaica’s most versatile entertainer’.

Rush is Smith’s third album, and of the 12 songs released, two are originals, the others are all-time favorites.

The originals, Don’t Let the Children Cry and Something in the Water, are both written and produced by Lindo.

Other popular renditions include the work of the late prince of reggae, Dennis Brown.

 

The album is distributed by VP records.

Miami-Dade cops arrest four in connection with shooting of undercover officers

Detective from the Miami-Dade Police Department have arrested four men in connection with Monday’s shooting of two undercover cops who wee conducting a gang stake out.

The officers, Detectives Terrence White and Charles Woods, were ambushed and pelted with a hail of bullets as they conducted a clandestine operation in Liberty City shortly after 10:00 p.m., on Monday March 27.

The two detectives were inside of an unmarked police vehicle within an apartment complex, when they were approached by at least two armed subjects, who began shooting at the detectives. One detective sustained a gunshot wound to the leg and the other sustained a gunshot wound to the arm.  One of the two detectives was able to return fire, it is unknown if a subject was shot.

A responding officer coming to their aide arrived on scene, placed the wounded detectives into his unmarked police vehicle and transported them to Jackson Ryder Trauma Center in stable condition.

Investigators have subsequently arrested four men in connection with the attack.

The first to be collared has been identified as Damian Antwan Thompson. Thompson was held following several CrimeStoppers and has been transported has been put behind bars.

The police then rounded up two women and another man. The women have been identified as Mikequesha Simmons, 22 and 24-year-old Jessica Pierre. The man has been identified as 25-year-old Jamal Daniels.

Jamaica keeps lid on corned beef ban

The Ministry of Agriculture in Jamaica says the ban on corned beef imported from Brazil will remain in place until the relevant tests are completed .

The statement comes in the wake of a release on Tuesday from the Brazilian Embassy in Jamaica in which it was noted that major markets including the European Union, China and the United States have lifted the ban.

While the Embassy has not appealed to the Jamaican Government to rethink its position  – last week the embassy  urged the government to discontinue the ban.

The government last week placed a ban on the sale of corned beef imported from Brazil after they were informed by Brazilian officials that processors of the product were using rotten meat and consuming corned beef posed a health risk.

Nine Broward County Public Schools receive Magnet Excellence Awards

Nine Broward County Public Schools (BPCS) are recipients of the 2017 Magnet Schools of Excellence Award, the top merit award given to a select group of magnet schools; and Magnet Schools of Distinction Award, the second highest award of recognition.

The selected magnet schools and programs are recognized for their commitment to high academic standards, school diversity, specialized curricula and instruction, family engagement, and community partnerships that enhance the school’s magnet theme.

BCPS Superintendent Robert W. Runcie, was beaming with pride.

“These achievements are testaments to the commitment and dedication of our school leaders and teachers to excellence in education. This is a competitive process that awards only a small fraction of the magnet schools nationally. We are very proud that our magnet schools have been recognized for the outstanding work going on across our District,” Runcie said.

The following are the National Merit Award winning magnet schools:

Magnet Schools of Excellence

Sunrise Middle School -Montessori

Magnet Schools of Distinction

Apollo Middle School, Science -Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

Atlantic West Elementary School -Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

Attucks Middle School -Cambridge Global Communications Academy

Crystal Lake Middle School -Engineering and Environmental Science Program

Fort Lauderdale High School -Cambridge

Fort Lauderdale High School – Pre-Law & Public Affairs

New River Middle School -Marine Science

Plantation Middle School -International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program

The schools will be recognized and receive the National Merit Awards during an awards ceremony held at Magnet Schools of America’s 35th National Conference, April 26-30, 2017, hosted by Los Angeles Unified School District in Los Angeles, California.

300 Caribbean religious officials urge U.S. to stop promoting LGBT rights

Its Tuesday, March 28. We are looking at some of the top stories across your Caribbean-American community.

And in sports

Trinidad and Tobago face a tough home World Cup qualifying match against group leaders Mexico at the Haisley Crawford Dtadium today. The Trinidadians are fifth in the six team group with three points and nothing less than a win will give them a real shot at qualifyiong for the 2018 World Cup in Russia

Here’s What’s trending

Nearly 300 religious officials from the Caribbean and Guyana have urged the U.S. to no longer promote LGBT and intersex rights abroad. The 289 ministers who are from the Bahamas, St. Maarten, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana made the request in a letter they sent to President Trump recently.

Make sure to pick up your copy of the Caribbean News Weekly at your nearest Caribbean American outlet.

Bully suspended after being chased by angry Trini Mom

A teenager who choked and slapped his female class prefect at a secondary school in Penal, Trinidad was lucky to have escaped her mother’s wrath.

The angered woman chased the teenage boy who reportedly expressed no remorse for his actions and refused to go to the principal’s office. Her efforts were in vain, however, as the child proved nimble on his feet.

The offending teenager has been suspended for seven days.

But the victim’s mother was for from satisfied.

The irate mother, Suzette Atteck, said her daughter’s eyeglasses were smashed during the melee and demanded that the boy’s parents replace the eye wear.

Atteck, a preschool teacher, was even more angered after she attempted to file a report at the Penal police station, but no charges were laid. Instead, she was questioned about chasing the boy around the school.

“The police told the boy to apologise to my daughter and that was it. I understand he would have been charged with assault and malicious damage to her property. I accepted the apology but the boy’s parents need to replace her glasses. It is unfair to us,” the woman told the Trinidad Express.

Atteck said her 13-year-old daughter, the class prefect, tried to caution the 14-year-old boy about his behaviour when she was attacked last week Friday.

She said her daughter was pushed and choked by the boy.

“Another child called me and I went to the school. That was when I saw my child crying and the boy refused to come to the principal’s office. I went after him and he started running. I know what I did was wrong. I chased him around the school and he ran out the gates,” she said.

The police were contacted and warned Atteck about her actions.

Atteck said she had reported to school officials that the boy had threatened to beat her daughter in January but nothing was done.

The mother of two is now calling on the Ministry of Education to intervene.

“That boy will return to school and my daughter will be there. How do I know she is safe? I have to worry about my child every morning when I drop her off to school. The ministry needs to do something about this,” she said.

UPDATE: Several persons arrested in connection with shooting of undercover cops

The Miami-Dade Police Department has detained several individuals in connection with the shooting and injury of two undercover cops from the department last night.

The two cops, were shot after hoodlums ambushed them as they were conducting gang surveillance in the county last night.

The injuries to the cops are not life threatening and they are currently undergoing treatment in hospital.

The department has reported that those held will be interviewed to determine their involvement, if any, with regards to yesterday’s shooting.

There have been no arrests made in the case.

Riker Hylton retains lawyer in doping violation appeal

Riker Hylton

Jamaican quarter-miler Riker Hylton has retained the services of sports attorney Dr Emir Crowne, to represent him when he appears before an Independent Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel who accused him of violating the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission’s (JADCO) anti-doping rules.

Hylton is accused of evading, refusing or failing to submit to sample collection.

JADCO advised Hylton that he was being provisionally suspended from competition with immediate effect in “accordance with Article 7.11.3.7 of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Rules, 2015.”

The commission also stated that the length of his suspension depends on the final decision of the Independent Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel on the charge brought against him.

Crowne has written to JADCO strongly denying the allegations against his client.

Last week, the Jamaica Athletic Administrative Authority (JAAA) said they were advised that Hylton and 2014 Commonwealth Games 400-metre hurdles champion Kaliese Spencer had violated JADCO’s anti-doping rules. Spencer has also denied the claims and vowed to take legal action to clear her name.

Messi banned for four World Cup games

The mercurial Lionel Messi has been banned by FIFA from Argentina’s next four World Cup qualifiers. The ban started with Tuesday’s game in Bolivia.

Messi was banned for “having directed insulting words at an assistant referee” during a home qualifier against Chile on Thursday, FIFA said hours before kick-off in La Paz.

“This decision is in line with the FIFA Disciplinary Committee’s previous rulings in similar cases,” world soccer’s governing body said.

Messi and the Argentine soccer federation can appeal against the ban to FIFA. Messi was also fined 10,000 Swiss francs (US$10,160).

FIFA intervened when the incident was not initially reported by the Brazilian referee after Argentina’s 1-0 win at Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires.

It was judged a red-card offense for Messi, who scored the only goal from a first-half penalty.

Television pictures showed Messi reacting angrily late in the game when the assistant flagged him for a foul. He waved his arms and shouted profane insults at the Brazilian official.

After the game, Messi refused to shake hands with the assistant who had annoyed him.

Messi will also miss Argentina’s game at Uruguay on August 31, and home games against Venezuela on September 5 and Peru on October 5.

Argentina is third in the South American standings with five games left. Four teams qualify directly to play in Russia.

Notorious Jamaican gang leader held in the Bahamas

One of the top tier leaders of one of Jamaica’s most notorious criminal outfit, Tesha Miller, has been arrested in the Bahamas Islands.

Miller, had been listed by police from the Counter Terrorism and Organized Crime Investigation Branch (C-TOC) as a person of interest several months ago. Despite pleas from the police for the Clansman Gang boss to turn himself in, he instead went into hiding.

Miller is set to be deported to Jamaica next week.

He was deported from the United States in 2016 after spending almost three years behind bars for entering the country illegally from Bahamas.

His name has been linked to several murders that have occurred in Spanish Town, Portmore and other sections of St Catherine.

The Clansman gang has been imploding ever since the demise of its leader, Donovan ‘Bulby’ Bennett at the hands of the police several years ago. Since Bennett’s death, more than 200 people have died violently in St Catherine where the gang has several bases, including the communities of Rivoli, Lakes Pen, Fish Ground, Jones Avenue and Tredegar Park.

Beheadings are a trademark of the gang. Several of Miller’s relatives have lost their lives in the ongoing gang feud.

The gang is known to run a multi-million dollar extortion racket in Spanish Town with its base at the municipal bus park. Despite the efforts of the security forces the racket is reportedly continuing as business and transport fear for their lives if they stand up to the criminals.

Cell phone jammers upgraded at Kingston prison housing Kartel

Jamaica’s Ministry of National Security has upgraded two cell phone jammers at the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre, formerly known as the (General Penitentiary), where convicted dancehall DJ, Vybz Kartel, is currently serving his life sentence.

The move is in keeping with a bid by the ministry to strengthen security in the nation’s correctional facilities through a special Technology Task Force.

The jammers are expected to block incoming and outgoing calls from the maximum security facility.

The ministry moved to stamp out illegal use of electronic devices in the aftermath of a call from former Youth and Culture Minister, Lisa Hanna, that Vybz Kartel’s music be banned from radio as they were being recorded illegally in prison.

Angry fans of the DJ issued death threats and lambasted Hanna for her stance.

Minister of State in the Ministry of National Security, Pearnel Charles Jr. said the Task Force is swiftly implementing a technology strategy that will identify more modern technology for phased roll-out in all the correctional institutions.

“By optimizing and maintaining our physical security assets, we are advancing the process of identifying and selecting the best, and most modern cellular jammers and other technology solutions for deployment throughout the correctional system,” said Charles.

“The restoration of these jammers serves an immediate need but also speaks to the lack of maintenance and under-utilisation in recent years. This is the first in a series of interventions by the team, which will carry out further assessments throughout the correctional institutions”, he added.

Charles said audits will be conducted by the Task force in all institutions under phase 2 of an electronic monitoring program.

Providers have also begun the process of assessing the CCTV surveillance systems in the correctional facilities; as well as the  installation of X-Ray Scanning Machines at Tower Street and St. Catherine Adult Correctional Centres and the Horizon Adult Remand Centre, as well as metal detectors and new Entry Management Protocols.

Caribbean church leaders beg U.S. to stop promoting LGBT rights

LGBT rights

 

Nearly 300 religious officials from the Caribbean and Guyana have urged the U.S. to no longer promote LGBT and intersex rights abroad.
The 289 ministers who are from the Bahamas, St. Maarten, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana made the request in a letter sent  to US President Donlad Trump recently.

 
“We write to you as concerned Christian ministers and churches from the Caribbean region (including the Bahamas) who hope and pray that the United States, under your leadership, will once again cast a light from ‘The City upon a Hill’ of which your American forefathers and President Ronald Reagan so frequently spoke,” reads the letter. “Sadly, during recent years, that City has too often cast shadows instead of light.”
“We refer specifically to the policies of the U.S. State Department and other government agencies involved in foreign policy that have undertaken to coerce our countries into accepting a mistaken version of marriage,” it continues.
The letter referred to the appointment of Randy Berry as the special U.S. envoy for the promotion of LGBT and intersex rights in 2015 was central to “the promotion of same-sex marriage” in American foreign policy.

It also questions then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 2011 speech to the U.N. Human Rights Council in which she said “gay rights are human rights.”

Miami cops shot during brazen ambush

Two Miami-Dade police officers are now in hospital after they were ambushed and shot while on a stake out in Northwest Miami-Dade County on Monday night.
The cops, who were assigned to the Homicide Street Violence Task Force, \were part of a multi-agency gang enforcement sweep.

According to detectives, shortly after 10:00 p.m. Mondaythe two detectives were inside of an unmarked police vehicle within an apartment complex, located at 1937 NW 60 Street, conducting surveillance for gang activity.  The undercover detectives were ambushed by at least two armed subjects, who approached the unmarked police vehicle and began shooting at the detectives.  One detective sustained a gunshot wound to the leg and the other sustained a gunshot wound to the arm.  One of the two detectives was able to return fire, it is unknown if any of the attackers wereshot.

A responding officer coming to their aide arrived on scene, placed the wounded detectives into his unmarked police vehicle and transported them to Jackson Ryder Trauma Center in stable condition.

Officers from multiple agencies responded to assist in the search for the shooters, who remain at large.
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