Some good news and some bad news came from Dick Jefferson this week, regarding the ongoing case of the brutal gay bashing of Dick and his friends on the island of St. Maarten two months ago.
Dick says that most of the perpetrators are still loose on the island, but the individual who specifically attacked him has allegedly fled the island altogether and is rumored to be hiding on the island of Guadeloupe. The other news is that Ryan Smith will soon have surgery to have a steel plate put in his head. “It is not fun, but it is progress,” says Dick.
The full text of Dick Jefferson's email follows after the jump.
–TEXT of email from Dick Jefferson–
There is good news, but first the scary. “Duracell” got away!
The tire-wrench-swinging animal that crushed my skull is still on the prowl–ready to try to kill again. Only he is no longer on St. Maarten/St. Martin. He escaped the island!
His escape should embarrass all those who let him flee, and scare away all thinking about visiting the island. Most of the others who also attacked my friends and me are still on the loose.
It is almost too easy to blame the unique nature of the island–shared between the French and the Dutch. The attack took place on the Dutch side. From the beginning, the St. Maarten police—once they responded to the crime—have known the assailants were hiding on the French side. Despite boasts of “350 years of cooperation,” and of “two nations, one people,” neither side has come up with a solution to one crime, two nations.
It took weeks for Netherland Antilles Chief Prosecutor Taco Stein to convince the French to cooperate, and even more time wasted in translating documents before the French would act. Then it was too late.
And “one people” didn't help either. I knew “Duracell” was the leader of the gang since the first week. I agreed not to use his name publicly, before now, at the request of authorities who feared it would interfere with his arrest. As I have said from the beginning, the police are only as good as the citizens they serve. Somebody helped him get off the island. He did not swim off. He did not grow wings and fly off. He did not board a plane without an official checking his documents, either.
And Duracell had been convicted before. His weapon of choice the last time was a machete! Duracell is now believed to be on the island of Guadeloupe. If it is any consolation, and if the French track him down, Duracell will be closer to the courthouse and the prison where he belongs–before he attempts to kill again.
If you want to let the French know how you feel about letting a criminal escape, contact the Director of Tourism on the French side, Bernadette Davis: b.davis@st-martin.org. The Mayor of the commune of St Martin is Alfred Fleming, but he does not appear to have a public email address.
For contacts on the Dutch side, go to www.sxmprivateeye.com The website has been very supportive, and is a great source of information about the case, the current crime wave (yes, more murders) and police negligence.
Now the good news, if having more surgery is good news. Ryan Smith, who also had his skull crushed in this attack, is scheduled to get his steel plate this week. It is not fun, but it is progress. Ryan, welcome to the really hard-headed club!
–END text of Dick Jefferson's email–
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