Wilkie Arthur

Freelance Court Correspondent

In the early morning hours of Friday the August 3rd, 2018 Judah Gail was at the Five Dollar Bar situated at Lamont’s (Chicken) parking lot in Providenciales; also at the bar were several other patrons including a woman who was in company of some friends. During the course of the night and before the fatal shooting there was an altercation between a person known as “Madmax” and one “Sparky” on the corner of the food court at the establishment’s parking lot.

Gunshots were fired and the patrons hurriedly dispersed, whilst some ran into the bar and laid low.

The case for the Crown depended to a large extent on the evidence of JC who testified under the cloak of anonymity and the pseudonym Jessica Cooper.

JC testified that shortly after the gunshots and the verbal altercation between Madmax and Sparky, a red Mustang entered the parking lot to the Five Dollar Bar. It was then about 2:00am. She further testified that Madmax alighted from the red Mustang, raised his shirt revealing a gun. She said, then he approached Judah and asked him whether he thought his gun was a trophy and Judah laughed. 

At the time, Judah was sitting on a vehicle close by, she testified.

Madmax’s vehicle was a distance of approximately 2-3 feet in front of JC’s vehicle and she said that she was about 10-15 feet away from the shooting incident. 

Madmax told Judah, “I will kill yuh *ucking a$$ tonight” and shot him once in his chest.

He then fired two more shots into Judah’s chest, according to the eyewitnesses.

Madmax then got into the red Mustang and sped away from the scene. Judah collapsed onto a vehicle belonging to one Thea Musgrove and succumbed to his injuries at the scene.

Again, that was 2018.

Kendall “Madmax” Dean was convicted on March 2nd, 2020 of that crime and later sentenced to 30 years to life imprisonment for the Judah Gail murder. But Dean would appeal his conviction. 

On Wednesday May 5th, 2021 after having carefully considered the written submissions and having had the benefit of oral submissions the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, quashed the conviction and directed that a verdict of an acquittal be entered. 

We relived that 2018 bold in public shooting death of Judah Gail, the anonymous witness testifying, along with the conviction, sentence and subsequent overturned by the court of appeal, to show and remind ourselves that this present case of Swann’s shooting death bears striking similarities. 

This court correspondent can now report, one of the jurors said in the first attempt to select a 12 member jury for this new trial, that she was a juror on his first murder trial. She was referring to the 2020 trial for the murder of Judah Gail that took place in August 2018. 

As a result of what was said by that potential female juror, in the presence of the rest of jury in the waiting pool, already having been selected for the trial, the selection process was aborted.  

The following week, another attempt at staffing an unbiased jury resumed.

Police confirmed and revealed that in this new shooting death of JOSHUA SWANN on the evening of Sunday August 8, 2021 – exactly three months and three days after Madmax had won his appeal and been released – that a bold gun crime in clear view of members of the public, with reportedly many witnesses was carried out by Kendall Dean; facing charges of murder. 

A number of the other witnesses who gave police statements refused to testify in the trial held in the Grand Turk Supreme Court as police believed and was investigating how one of the eye witnesses that were present at Swann’s murder scene and was sent off to the UK with his girlfriend and their young child, came back home. 

He “Karo Outten” having left the UK and moved to the USA for a while, decided to traveled from the US and returned home, was killed on Wednesday June 7th, 2023, at ZaZa location on Five Cays Road. 

He traveled home without the permission and knowledge of those closest to him, including his girlfriend or child; it blindsided witness protection as well.

The girlfriend was called in as a witness in the trial; she testified from the United Kingdom unabashedly stating that she was not returning to TCI after what happened to her partner mere days after landing in Providenciales. 

Dean was charged with the murder of Joshua Swann; described as ‘his own friend’,  over what police said was a ‘theft of funds dispute.’

Police explained that they believed Swann was shot for missing funds he did not steal, according to statements they had collected.

The 12 member jury heard the evidence and on Monday April 22 returned a conviction for Kendall Dean in the 2021 killing that claimed the life of the young man.

Kendall Dean is facing 30 years in prison on the murder conviction. 

Will the judge in this new murder matter, his Lordship The Hon Mr Justice Davidson Kevin Baptiste imposed the mandatory minimum of 30 years to life imprisonment on Kendall Dean? or will Mr. Oliver Smith KC, Dean’s attorney, persuade the judge to sentence his client to less than the 30 years to life imprisonment according to our TCI laws, if finds exceptional circumstances? 

A sentence of 30 years to life imprisonment simply means, Dean will have to serve no less than 30 years before he can apply to be considered for parole. If having exhausted all his appeal options and fails, he would be at age 56 before his first parole application can be submitted for consideration and no guarantee it will be granted. 

The “life sentence” means he can remain at His Majesty’s Prison until he dies.

Prosecuting the matter was SIPT Senior Public Prosecutor, Mr. Quinn Hawkins and was assisted by Ms. Katherine “Kate” Duncan also from the SIPT trial. They were granted special noticeable police protection at their hotel rooms and everywhere while conducting the prosecution of this trial in Grand Turk and heavily armed tactical unit officers were positioned at the court for the duration of the trial

Now, sentencing is fixed for June 10th, 2024.

As Caribbean destinations prepare to host major events, including vibrant festivals, carnivals, homecomings, and the highly anticipated International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup, tourism and public health stakeholders call on the region to remain diligent while reaffirming their commitment to health safety measures.

Amidst the excitement of these upcoming events, there is a unified push to recommit to essential health protocols and practices, ensuring the protection of employees and visitors alike. A vital element of this initiative is the expansion of the Caribbean Public Health Agency’s (CARPHA) Tourism Health Information System (THiS) to capture and respond immediately to negative health events. CARPHA is also building capacity in countries to encourage the widespread practice of food safety and to prevent and control the spread of infectious diseases in the hospitality sector.

This move builds on a decade of collaboration between health and tourism officials in the Caribbean. The partnership has laid the groundwork for the region’s swift recovery from the global COVID-19 pandemic declared by the World Health Organization over four years ago. This collaboration was formed through the Caribbean Tourism and Health Program (THP) in 2014, following a Memorandum of Understanding signed by CARPHA, the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

The Caribbean’s successful navigation of the pandemic, marked by one of the lowest per capita COVID-19 rates and among the fastest recoveries worldwide in tourism and the economy, sets a strong foundation for rebuilding its events and group business segments. With groups and events accounting for over 20 percent of the region’s tourism business, ensuring a healthy environment is paramount to its success.

Nicola Madden Greig, President of CHTA, underscored the importance of “cohesive regional cooperation,” which was advanced during the pandemic. She said she had full confidence in the unified public-private sector approach to collaboration: “With the Caribbean being on such a positive growth trajectory, we cannot be complacent, and our efforts must be bolstered by a strong communications approach to continue to protect our residents and visitors while reaping the rewards of our resilient tourism industry.”

Dr. Joy St. John, Executive Director of CARPHA, concurred, asserting, “Globally, we are witnessing a resurgence of diseases such as measles, dengue fever, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and noroviruses, while new COVID-19 variants continue to develop. As one of the world’s leading travel destinations, we must remain vigilant to protect our employees and visitors.”

Similarly, CTO’s Secretary General, Dona Regis-Prosper, stressed, “As we continue to welcome visitors to experience the Caribbean’s breathtaking natural beauty and vibrant cultural heritage, we must uphold our commitment to ensuring a healthy environment.”

Dr. Didacus Jules, Director General of the OECS, shared his commendation of the relaunch and stated, “The OECS is delighted to see the return of major events allowing residents and visitors to share in our authentic experiences, and is pleased to continue its partnership with CARPHA and other regional tourism organizations towards healthier, safer tourism.”

In support of these goals and response to recent health and safety concerns, CARPHA is redoubling its outreach to the tourism industry, offering training, online tools, and resources to enhance health safety protocols.

Dr. Lisa Indar, Director of the Surveillance Disease Prevention and Control Division and Head of the Regional Tourism and Health Program at CARPHA, noted, “This year, we have launched a robust outreach effort to urge all Caribbean tourism-related businesses to renew their commitments to health and safety, refresh their training and protocols, and participate in the highly effective Tourism and Health Information System (THiS), a confidential online knowledge, help center and reporting system, and other CARPHA trainings, all towards advancing a healthier safer tourism product.”

Garfield Ekon

Staff Writer

A highly placed United Nations (UN) official has described transatlantic slave trade and chattel slavery, as one of the darkest chapters in human history, and “not merely a 400-year long aberration.”

President of the UN General Assembly, Dennis Francis who made the comments while contributing to the Henry Cohen Public Lecture Series, recently, said the salve trade was also systematic assault on the fundamental rights of millions of people of African descent, and “harrowing statistics and images” that are well known, show that 12 million people deported across the Atlantic.

“Now the grave of millions, faces haunted by despair, families torn apart by deliberate Colonial policy, backs broken and/ or scarred from the merciless whipping, and human beings reduced to mere commodities on the auction block – all while Colonial powers amassed incalculable fortunes and wealth as part of the industrial revolution in Europe,” the President said.

Adding that although the images do not show the vestiges of the system of brutality, as it was a system, and not mere interpersonal, so “reparations are, therefore, more than just a matter of financial compensation – they represent a moral imperative, an honest reckoning with the past to make amends to entire communities disadvantaged deliberately, not consequentially, in order to enrich and empower Colonial Governments,” he said.

Further, he said correcting that injustice is essential to building a just and equitable future, and separatory justice starts with historical justice, and the truth, stressing that a pervasive dimension of African slavery was the notion that Africans were “intrinsically inferior to their slave masters, members of the white plantocracy.

“Racism and discrimination therefore became an entrenched feature of slave society that have over the centuries led to the suppression from public view of major achievements and contributions made to civilization, made by people of African descent,” the UN official said

The slave trade, he noted, constituted a “grievous violation” of human rights, inflicting “unspeakable suffering” and lasting harm on the victims, on those who survived the Middle Passage, and their descendants, as well as on the African continent itself.

Formally acknowledging the historical injustice, of denying millions their right to life and their dignity, by offering apologies and engaging in truth-telling, it would, in effect, be honouring the memory of all those who suffered and died and pave the way for reconciliation and healing, he told his audience.

“This is a good and rightful start, but it is just that: only a start. When slavery was abolished by an Act of the British Parliament in 1830, the Parliament also approved the payment of compensation to slave owners for the financial losses they incurred as a consequence of having lost their ‘possessions,’” he said, adding that a starting point is for the establishment of a Reparatory Justice Development Framework to the communities directly affected and impacted by chattel slavery.