KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC -Three Grenadian nationals suspected of being involved in the disappearance of the United States owners of a yacht that had been anchored in that Caribbean island, Monday pleaded guilty to four immigration-related charges in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The men, Ron Mitchell, 30, Trevon Robertson, 25, and Atiba Stanislaus, 23, of Paradise, St. Andrew, Grenada, pleaded guilty to charges that on February 21, at Petit Bordel, being a prohibited immigrant, entered the island by boat without a passport.
They were also charged with entering the state other than at a port of entry, entering the state by boat and disembarking without the consent of an immigration officer, and knowingly and wilfully allowing themselves to be landed as a prohibited immigrant.
The men, who appeared before Senior Magistrate Colin John, had fled to St. Vincent and the Grenadines after escaping prison in their home country.
They have been remanded into custody and will return to court within a week.
The prosecutor, acting Corporal of Police Corlene Samuel, had just begun to give the facts in the case when the magistrate told her that he would remand the men in custody and hear the facts on March 4.
The men were escorted to court by heavily armed officers from tactical units of the police force, armed with assault rifles in addition to short arms.
Mitchell held his side and appeared to have tears flowing from his eyes during his arraignment. He had to be assisted in exiting the unmarked police vehicle in which they were taken to court.
The Caribbean Media Corporation CMC) has been able to confirm that police shot Mitchell while apprehending the trio in Petit Bordel, a village on the west coast of St. Vincent, last Wednesday.
The trio are among five Grenadians arrested in North Leeward last week.
One of the other two Grenadians is said to be wanted in his home country on rape charges.
Grenadian and Vincentian detectives have been combing the catamaran “Simplicity” for evidence as they investigate the disappearance of two US nationals, who have been identified as Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel.
On Saturday, two of the couple’s relatives stood on the dock at the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Coast Guard Service Calliaqua Base, where the yacht is docked, as investigators continued their probe.
The relatives of the missing couple are said to have helped detectives to identify some of the missing couple’s items.
The yacht was allegedly stolen in Grenada on February 19 and sailed to St. Vincent overnight, allegedly by the three escaped prisoners.
Officers from the Major Crime Unit and the Criminal Records Office in Kingstown were joined by their Grenadian counterparts, including a forensic investigator, aboard the vessel last Friday.
Caribbean Safety and Security Net (CSSN), which collects and disseminates information relating to crimes against yachts in the Caribbean, reported that a cruising catamaran that had been anchored off Grand Anse, Grenada, was found poorly anchored with a shredded jib off the coast of Wallilabou on the west coast of St. Vincent last Tuesday.
“Upon inspection, it was found that the yacht had been ransacked, and it was apparent a violent act had taken place. Copious amounts of blood were found in the master stateroom, and the two owners were missing,” CSSN reported.
The yacht’s dinghy was also missing but was later recovered. However, passports on the vessel allowed authorities to contact the victims’ emergency contact.
The Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) was scheduled to hold a news conference on Monday.
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