WHILE thousands of revellers took to the streets for Carnival Tuesday celebrations yesterday, police in Morvant and West End were busy investigating the murders of two men who were gunned down in unrelated incidents.

They have been identified as Clevon “Scrappy” Hamilton, 22, an NHA labourer of Pelican Extention, Morvant and Jason Tinto, 22, who worked on the CEPEP programme, and lived at Spring View Drive, Petit Valley. These murders bring to 35 the number reported for the year. For the long Carnival weekend, which ended yesterday, three murders, four road fatalities and a drowning were reported. However, police made it clear that the three murders which occurred over the long Carnival weekend, were all gang or drug related and were not the result of the revelry.

In the Morvant incident, residents of Pelican Extension reported hearing a series of loud explosions between midnight and 2 am yesterday. Around 6 am, Morvant police received an anonymous call informing them that the body of a man was seen on an empty parcel of land. Officers led by Snr Supt Desmond Lambert and including Supt Waldron Bishop, Ag ASP Phillip, Insp Dave Hilaire, Sgt David Abraham, Sgt Keith Louison, PC Sunil Ramoutar and PC Liston Taylor visited the scene and found the bloodstained body of Hamilton resting on a car seat propped under a mango tree.

The body bore several gunshots to the head and spent ammunition shells were found nearby. Hamilton’s body was found near his home on a lot of land between Pelican Extention and Mahabir Courts. Homicide Bureau officers’ ASP Nadir Khan, Cpl Radcliffe Boxhill and WPC Suzette Martin arrived a short time later along with DMO Dr Richard Holder. Resting on Hamilton’s stomach was a Marvin Gaye ski-mask, which is popularly used by bandits to hide their identity. Police sources told Newsday Hamilton was the lieutenant of a well-known bandit who also lives in Morvant. However, several residents who were at the crime scene described him as a quiet person who was active in the community and loved to play football and cricket. Shortly after Hamilton’s body was removed from the scene en route to the Port-of- Spain Mortuary, his father Owen Hamilton arrived and was taken to the Morvant Police Station. Insp Dave Hilaire is continuing investigations.

In the other murder, residents of Petit Valley heard loud explosions coming from Spring View Drive around 2 am yesterday. On checking, they saw Jason Tinto, 22, lying in the road gasping for air and bleeding from several gunshot wounds about his body. He was taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival. Tinto was shot behind the right ear, in his left arm, stomach and feet. Visiting the scene were Snr Supt Selwyn Glasgow, Supt Nadir Mohammed, ASP Fitzroy Fredericks, Insp Narciss Cadette and Homicide Bureau officers’ Insp Lester Hutchings and Ag Cpl Forde. Police are working on reports that a car was seen speeding out of Spring View Drive, shortly after the gunshots were heard. Sgt Anthony Lezama of West End police, is continuing investigations. Autopsies are expected to be carried out today at the Forensic Sciences Centre on both bodies.

WHILE police sources reported a marked decrease in criminal activities over the just concluded Carnival Weekend, thanks to a massive joint police/army presence throughout the country, three murders were still reported.

In addition, the carnage on the nation’s roads did not subside during the reign of the Merry Monarch, with seven persons losing their lives in several accidents, and others seriously injured. There was also a drowning. The following is a list in chronological order of the murders and fatalities which occurred over the long Carnival weekend.

CARNIVAL FRIDAY
— Christopher McIntosh, 22, of Thompson Street, Mt Hope was driving his white Ford Cortina east along Mendoza Street, Mt Hope in company with his cousin Junior Francis. McIntosh lost control of the vehicle which struck a lamp post, killing him instantly.
— Amit Dookraj, 24, a carpenter of St Mary’s Village, Freeport died instantly when he was struck by a car driven by businessman Khifa Lutchman along the Southern Main Road, Freeport. 

CARNIVAL SATURDAY
— Herbert St Hill George, 37, of Pt Fortin lost his life around 4.30 am when his car crashed into a ditch off the Uriah Butler Highway. He later died at hospital.
— The bullet-riddled body of a yet to be identified man is found in a drain in Mt D’Or Road, Champs Fleurs. Residents reported hearing loud explosions on Saturday night while, a party was in progress in the area. Around 6 am on Saturday, a resident of the area discovered the body which bore four gunshots to the chest, two in the back, two in the neck and a gunshot to the right thigh, lying in a drain. Three spent nine-millimetre shells were recovered near the body.

CARNIVAL MONDAY
— In a Jouvert crime crackdown 55 persons were arrested in a raid by police who seized an array of weapons including knives, cutlasses, razors, ice-picks, guns, hatchets and sharpened screwdrivers. The raid was carried out hours before Jouvert and is believed to be responsible for the generally crime-free Carnival jump-up in Port-of-Spain.
— Madoo Ramlal, 44, Luke Rampersad, 19, and Sheldon Siewnarine, 15, were killed after the van they were in, skidded off a road and overturned into a ditch in Gran Couva. A one-year-old baby boy, who was seated with relatives in the tray of the van escaped with only minor injuries, while six others were treated for serious injuries.

CARNIVAL TUESDAY
— NHA labourer Clevon “Scrappy” Hamilton, 22, of Pelican Extension, Morvant, was found dead in a vacant lot of land near his home, with gunshot wounds to the head. Police have described the killing as a “mafia-styled” execution.
— CEPEP worker Jason Tinto, 22, died at Port-of-Spain General Hospital after being brought there suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Around 2 am, he was found by neighbours lying on a road in Spring View Drive, Petit Valley near to where he lived, bleeding from gunshot wounds.

THOUSANDS of spectators jammed the Couva Car Park for the districts Monday Night Mas celebrations which culminated with the crowning of a Carnival King and Queen.

The show was part of an eight-day programme of activities organized by the Couva Carnival Committee headed by Councillor Ramchand Rajbal. Winning the King of the Bands title was Makesa Andrews, whose portrayal of  (The Music Man) from the band “Kaiso Kaiso” was a classic example of a skillfully designed costume that reflected true calypso. In second place was Dexter Clarke’s (Yellow Poui in Bloom) from Masplayers Incorporated’s “Fruit and Flowers”. Third was Mark Harriot’s (Chinese Chandelier) from the band “We Festival”. The Queen of Carnival crown went to Cassandra Bayne, portraying  (Fire, Fire) from New Dimensions’ “Kaiso, Kaiso”. In second spot was Mariana Steele’s (A Florist’s Dream) from Masplayers Incorporated “Fruits and Flowers” and third was Vanessa Lochan’s (Butterfly Kite) from Primchand Ramsaroop’s “Flying Kites”. “Kaiso, Kaiso” also won  the Best Band on parade title. Here are the full results:

KING OF THE BANDS
1.  Makesa Andrews (The Music Man)
2.  Dexter Clarke (Yellow Poui in Bloom)
3. Mark Harriot (Chinese Chandelier)
4. Vishan Choon (Chinese Dragon Kite
5. Prakash Rajkumar (Ali Baba)
6. Makado Johnson (Tribal Fantasy)
7. Stephen Balroop (Sun God)
8. Darren Boodhoo (Pirates of the High Seas).

QUEEN OF THE BANDS
1.Cassandra Bayne (Fire, Fire)
2. Mariana Steele (The Florist’s Dream)
3. Vanessa Lochan (Butterfly Kite)
4. Katricia Francis (Funtastic)
5. Julie Peersad (Celestial Fantasy)
6. Mikela Johnson (An African Doll)
7. Ramona Ramdass Ali (Genie)
8. Ria Balroop (The Rainbow).

MONDAY NIGHT BANDS
1. New Dimensions’ “Kaiso, Kaiso”
2. Masplayers Incorporated “Fruits and Flowers”
3. Arabian Fantasy
4. Sky Is the Limit
5. Africa 2003 and Beyond
6. Flying Kite
7. Cote Ce,  Cote La.

YOUNG AND RESTLESS actress Victoria Rowell (Drucilla Winters) said after one day of playing mas on the streets of Port-of-Spain, she feels like a Trini and her experience in Trinidad and Tobago thus far has been “phenomenal”.

In an interview with Newsday during a special function hosted at the Hilton Trinidad on Carnival Monday night by Hilton General Manager Ali Khan, Rowell said: “ I have been having a phenomenal time. I danced. Previous to my acting career, I danced with American Ballet Theatre in New York. So I got to put all that training into playing today. I danced for seven hours, so the stamina came in handy.” The actress said one of her more memorable Carnival experiences was dancing atop a sound truck earlier in the day with soca artistes Destra Garcia and Machel Montano. Outside of Carnival activities, Rowell said she has visited places such as the Abbey at Mount St Benedict and will go to Tobago after Carnival Tuesday to see the sights and relax.

Asked if she would return for Carnival 2004, Rowell replied: “I hope I can bring other cast members of the Young and the Restless with me. I will have very good words to share with Sony International as well as CBS.” She added that Trinidad and Tobago Carnival was “the ultimate way to interact with the public” and expressed her heartfelt thanks to Douglas Gordon and Michelle Khan of Island Events.  Rowell played in the Desert Rose section of  Poison. The Y&R actress was also very impressed with the local newspapers, particularly Newsday. “I read it on the plane, on BWIA. I was very impressed by the diversity in the paper. I read about fine arts, AIDS in Tobago, Carnival, the community at large and I was quite impressed. It is not a small town paper at all. It is a very cosmopolitan paper,” Rowell said.

INVESTIGATIONS are continuing into the discovery of over $100,000 in compressed marijuana in an empty lot of land in Curepe on Carnival Friday.

Northern Division Task Force officers led by Cpl Jagdeo and including Ag Cpl Riley, PC Alleyne and PC George made the discovery around 10 pm after receiving certain information. The heavily armed officers swooped down on the lot of land in Watts Street, Curepe, after they got information.  Officers are working on the theory that a well known Curepe drug dealer was supposed to have gone to the lot of land to collect the drugs, but got wind that the police were en route. Up to late yesterday officers, who said they know the identity of the drug dealer who was supposed to have collected the marijuana, were preparing to carry out surveillance on him. Investigations are continuing.

TWO men are hospitalised under police guard after stabbing each other during a scuffle near the Arima Police Station on Monday evening.

One of them is in serious condition, Reports revealed that around 6 pm the men, both aged 19 and from Malabar and La Horquetta respectively, were liming outside Royal Castle in Arima when an argument broke out.
One man reportedly broke a beer bottle and stabbed the other in the chest. When they were parted by other limers, the first victim pulled out a knife from his waist and stabbed his attacker in the back repeatedly. ASP Errol Dillon, Insp Peter Grant, Cpl Jones, PC Lacaille and PC Sheldon Sylvester ran out of the police station and arrested the two bleeding men who were taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital for treatment. The man who was stabbed in the back is warded in an unsatisfactory condition, while the other victim is stable.  PC Darryl Lacaille is continuing investigations.

A 15-year-old Venezuelan who entered the country illegally through the South Western peninsula  was arrested by police on Carnival Monday.

The young man was discovered hiding out at a house in Cedros. According to police reports, at around 1 pm, Ag Insp Maraj and Cpl Gunness, went to a house owned by Ramesh Bhagwandeen, on inquires relating to a missing persons’s  report. The teenager, who could not speak English, was found in the house. Investigators could not say why the youth came to the country. Inquiries revealed that the illegal immigrant, who is from Lamula, Tucupita, arrived in the country on February 27, along with other persons. They had travelled by boat from Venezuela to  Los Iros. The teenager has since been handed over to the Immigration Department and is awaiting  deportation.

POLICE have issued a warrant for the arrest of a 23-year-old man who allegedly had sexual intercourse with a minor.

Police said the incident occurred last month but was only reported on Carnival Monday. According to reports, around 2.30 pm on February 22, the victim, a 15-year-old girl, of Cap-de-Ville, went to the home of a  23-year-old labourer. The report stated that while the teenager was there the man had sexual intercourse with her. A medical examination revealed that the girl was sexually active. PC Belfon and PC Conwal are continuing investigations.

FOUR men, including two prison officers, are hospitalised in serious but stable condition after the car they were in overturned several times on the Churchill Roosevelt Highway yesterday afternoon.

The injured persons have been identified as prison officers Steve John and Sheldon Bandoo and Kashmir Mohammed and Michael Seunath.
According to reports, at around 3.30 pm, John, of Manuel Congo Road, Arima, was driving his B13 Sentra car west along the highway. John and his three friends were on their way to a lime. On nearing the water treatment plant opposite Trincity Mall, John lost control of the car which swerved into the highway median. The impact caused the car to mount the median and flip several times along the east-bound side of the highway. All the occupants were thrown from the car and landed on various parts of the highway. A passing motorist, telephoned the Arouca  Police and in minutes, EHS ambulances arrived and whisked the injured men to hospital. Cpl Gray of Arouca Police is continuing investigations.