An 18-year-old resident at South Hill, Michael Luefung, has been charged and arrested for murder, bringing the number to four of such cases in Anguilla for the year.

Mr. Illidge Richardson

Luefung, who is originally from Jamaica, has been residing in Anguilla for some years with his mother. He is charged with the murder of Anguillian Javon Guishard, who is also 18 and who recently returned to Anguilla from the Bronx, New York, where he was attending High School. The stabbing death occurred on Friday, December 7, sometime after 7pm.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Illidge Richardson, said it was believed that there was an altercation between the two youngsters, which resulted in the death of Guishard. According to Richardson, Luefung had some minor injuries to his face and arm areas but was discharged from the hospital the same night.

It is understood that Guishard, who sustained stab wounds, collapsed near his mother’s residence in the area of the South Hill ball field, some distance from where the incident began.

The senior police official told the media on Wednesday that a few persons were in the vicinity and had seen what had occurred and that so far the police had collected a number of statements from them. He said Luefung was taken to the Magistrate’s Court on Monday and was remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison.

“Our investigations into the matter are still continuing,” Mr. Richardson said. “We are seeking whatever assistance members of the public who were there or in the immediate area and may have heard what happened between the two young men can give us.

The top official advised persons who have confrontations with others that instead of using objects to kill or injure someone they should try to settle their differences in an amicable manner and that the police are always available to receive complaints.

In other matters, Mr. Richardson reported that during the past week seven persons were arrested. Three were for committing a breach of the peace; one person was arrested for obstructing a police officer; one for an immigration offence; and two were arrested on committal warrants.

There were eight reports of crime as follows: two thefts in the Valley and West End including the stealing of 26,000 dollars worth of goods from a hotel and a cellular phone; one unlawful sexual intercourse offence with a minor; an indecent assault on a minor; one murder as reported above; one case of criminal damage to a backhoe; and two burglaries in which air-condition units and cooking pots were stolen.

In another matter, Renell Carty of South Hill was sentenced to one year in prison for assaulting a police officer.

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