Police came up empty-handed after mounting a huge armed dawn raid for Dockyard murder suspect Kenith Clifton Bulford at the empty Newstead hotel last week.

More than 30 officers, some with guns, swooped last Wednesday while Marine Police raided from the shoreline at the Harbour Road, Paget property said one witness.

And the witness, a maintenance worker who is staying at the property, also alleged that Police were heavy handed with him.

He said Police falsely accused him of hanging around with Bulford who is wanted for the killing of 20-year-old student Shaundae Jones who was shot at point blank range in the early hours of Sunday, April 27 outside Club Malabar in Dockyard.

The man said Bulford had not been staying at Newstead which closed in July for renovation, though he had seen people hanging about the property late at night.

He said: "I have seen shadows, two or three people going past my room at three or four o'clock in the morning."

The man said he was then taken to Prospect and then Hamilton Police station and falsely accused of owing thousands of dollars to the courts before being released hours later.

He said of Bulford: "I don't think he is here. Nobody has seen this guy. If he hasn't got out of the Island he is a fool."

Last night Police refused to confirm the raid at Newstead had taken place and they admitted that Bulford, 28, had not been made to surrender his passport while on Police bail.

However spokesman Dwayne Caines said: "We have specific intelligence that Mr. Bulford is still on the Island."

He repeated Police claims that Bulford, who has been on the run for weeks, was being harboured by friends or family.

He said: "Aiding and abetting a fugitive is a crime punishable with a maximum two years in jail."

Bulford, also known as Ethon, is about six feet four inches tall, brown skinned and of medium build. He weighs between 180 and 200 pounds and has dark hair.

He is known to frequent the Somerset and St. David's area.

Anyone with information should call Police on 295 0011or CrimeStoppers on 1-800-623-8477.

Four teenage boys who admitted stealing a boat and taking it for a joy ride narrowly escaped getting a criminal record yesterday when they were ordered to complete 100 hours of community service.

Crown counsel Wayne Caines asked Acting Senior Magistrate Carlisle Greaves if he would consider giving the St. David's residents a conditional discharge because of their age and the fact that it was their first offence.

Jacal Minors, 17, of Sofar Drive, Ricky Foggo, 17, Smith's Hill, Justin Pitcher, 16, of Great Bay Road, and Aaron Cannonier, 16, of St. Luke's Lane, all pleaded guilty to the offence.

The prank resulted in $400 worth of damage to the $9,000 vessel.

Pitcher had initially claimed that he was not guilty because he did not realise that the boat was stolen but changed his plea when Mr. Caines reminded him of a statement he had given to Police.

And when Pitcher's father claimed that his son did not realise that the boat was stolen, Mr. Greaves said: "Imagine if you saw Jinx Darrell (a local beggar) walking around with one million dollars - you would question where he got it from if he was offering you half.

"What if Jinx was driving a Mercedes Benz and he offered you a lift - you would know that it wasn't his - so if you took a ride with him than you would be charged with him.

"Surely when you were in the boat with the other three they were talking about the fact that the boat was stolen.

"In previous times you would have been made to walk the plank for this."

Mr. Greaves told the boys in order to receive the conditional discharge they had to pay $100 each for the damage to the boat and complete 100 hours of community service within six months.

The four were also ordered to stay out of trouble.

Two people were charged with fraudulently using an EasyLink card totting up amounts worth more than $1,000.

Sinclair Vickers, 20, of Leacraft Hill, Sandys Parish, and Danielle Bailey, 18, of Patience Close, Sandys Parish, were jointly charged with 16 counts of stealing the EasyLink card, which was the property of the Bank of Bermuda Ltd., fraudulently uttering, inducing employees of three different shops to accept the card as genuine and gaining items by false pretences.

The pair pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

They allegedly used the card in HA&E Smith's Ltd., the Shoe Locker, Shannon's Shoes and Cycles Care Spares.

Acting Senior Magistrate Carlisle Greaves released them each on $2,500 bail with a surety for a trial date on September 19.

A man charged with cursing Police officers and violently resisting arrest was branded 'Mr. Flare Up' by Acting Senior Magistrate Carlisle Greaves when he appeared in Magistrates' Court yesterday.

Ibe Kiemo Joey Todd, 26, of Lightbourne Apartments, Middle Road, Southampton, denied having an offensive weapon, a leather belt, and telling the officers that he was going to f***ing kill them, but admitted to violently resisting arrest.

Todd told the court that Police should have arrested the people who had kicked down his door and claimed that he 'lost it' when they pushed and hit his mother.

"I get disabled when someone hits my mama," said Todd.

"The Police should have arrested the people who were causing the ruckus - I just flare up."

Acting Senior Magistrate Carlisle Greaves asked: "Were they officers? Did they come to your house to arrest you? I don't know why you are so unlucky - you must be Mr. Flare Up."

Todd said: "I work in a stone quarry and I get rid of all my frustrations before I come home."

Todd was bailed for $2,500 to appear for trial on September 22.