MP calls for cameras to combat 'unacceptable level of heavy crime' near Woody's
Sandys MP Michael Scott has called for surveillance cameras and better lighting in the Woody’s bar area the scene of two murders, an attempted shooting and a stabbing since June 2010.The latest victim, Lorenzo Stovell, was gunned down late on Sunday as he sat on a minibus parked in a layby just west of the Boaz Island drinking venue [see main story].A murder investigation has been launched, but no arrests have been made.Mr Stovell, from Pembroke, was wheelchair-bound after being shot in the back, shoulder and arms outside Gravity nightclub, on North Shore Road, Devonshire, in December 2011.His murder came just a month after a man brandished what appeared to be a large automatic firearm outside Woody’s on Saturday, August 25.Police said he unsuccessfully attempted to fire the weapon at a crowd of people before fleeing on a jet ski.A number of suspects have been arrested and released, and a jet ski seized in Spanish Point, Pembroke, but nobody has been charged over the attack.Woody’s lies within the territory of the Sandys-based Money Over Bitches gang, which is engaged in an ongoing feud with the Pembroke-based Parkside gang.Police described the murder of Mr Stovell as having a “gang aspect” yesterday, but declined to give further details.In June 2012, a bar fight at Woody’s led to a stabbing nearby which left a man seriously injured. The culprit was jailed.In June 2011, father-of-two Freddy Maybury was gunned down as he left the bar. Police said the killing had the hallmarks of being committed by gang members.Woody’s manager Wayne Tucker said last month that Woody’s is “not at all” gang turf.The bar has CCTV cameras, and police released a picture of the gunman who attacked on August 25.However, Mr Scott said he wants additional cameras on the public road, to complement those at two locations in Somerset Village.“The first thing the latest murder brought to mind was the earlier attempted shooting and fatal shooting. This is an unacceptable level of heavy crime taking place in the Woody’s area,” he said.He called for “more structured” police patrols late at night in that area, plus “improved lighting and surveillance cameras” on the road and water’s edge nearby.Mr Scott said his constituents are “alarmed” by the spate of crime and he has raised those concerns with the police and Minister of National Security Wayne Perinchief.