We just received several emails and photographs from our good friend Paul Singh who joined the Force in 1980 having previously serving for  8 years in the Bermuda Prison Service.  Now retired, Paul and his wife Lorna , recently embarked on a 6 week trip to South America.  Paul and Lorna left Bermuda on 2^nd December and headed to Costa Rica, then Panama before heading to Equador to meet up with another former Bermuda policeman, Jim Fullerton, who served from 1973-1996, and his lovely Equadorian wife, Glenda.

They first took an overland tour through Costa Rica, visiting many villages; also the capital city, San Jose.  They zip-lined over mountains and rainforests. After criscrossing waterfalls and viewing active volcanoes they crossed the border into Panama, took a ferry to an archipelago named Bocas Del Torro, a small fishing town with no vehicular traffic. Paul says food was cheap and you can have a meal for US$5. After travelling via bus and ferries Paul and Lorna entered Panama from where they flew to Cuenca airport in Equador and were met by Jim and wife Glenda who were very accommodating hosts.

Jim and Glenda live in a 9 bedroom 6 bathroom farm house situated  3000 feet above sea level in the Andes mountains. Cool at nights but stunning views of the changing mountain scenes. Farming is the main form of life there, and it’s not uncommon to see native women dressed in bright colored outfits milking cows in the fields.

Paul says, “Food is sooo cheap. We spent New Years with Jim where we saw guinea pigs prepared from the cage to the dining room table - very tasty meals. Tradition at midnight on New Years Eve is to burn maniquins made from rags and leaves, signifying getting rid of the old things in the previous year, then setting off fireworks.

Jim is now retired and living off his pension. It’s said that in the three countries we visited a couple can retire on less than $1500 per month.  There are over 20,000 expats who call this region home.

After our week with with Jim we flew back to Panama City where we are now.   We took a boat tour of the Panama Canal. What an amazing engineering feat that is over 100years old and  joins the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.

We traversed the canal entering from the Pacific side through the Miaflores locks where we saw many large container ships/carships, just about every large ship goes through the canal, thus avoiding  Cape Horne, a most treacherous waterway. It took us 8 hours to cross from Pacific to Atlantic coast in the town of Colon.

The canal operates 24/7 with fees  calculated per container and size of ships.  The average size container ship carries over 5000 containers cost $119,000 per crossing whilst the Panamex ships cost $419,000, per crossing. Hotels here cost from US$20 depending on what you are willing to pay.  Hope this covers a snippet of our travels. The temperature today in Panama City is 91 F and we are homeward bound after a restful holiday in Latin America.

Happy New Year to everyone at home in Bermuda."

11th January 2016 

During the early evening of Wednesday 10^th January 1968 Herbert George Karam, aged 56 stood in his brother’s bar – Casey’s Lounge on Queen Street – and took a large roll of banknotes from a box and put them in his pocket. Standing nearby two of his friends, Grenville ‘Peter’ Saltus and Ronald Young saw the indiscretion and Young remarked to Saltus that someday Karam would be robbed.  Saltus replied that he had been thinking of robbing him himself, and suggested that he and Young should do it together. They agreed to do just that and the two friends left the bar and broke into Karam’s apartment on King Street through a side window. A conspiracy was underway.

Helping themselves to some neckties and beer, they lay in wait for two and a half hours planning what they would do when Karam came home. Saltus suggested that Young should throw a blanket over the victim’s head while Saltus would hit him with a piece of pipe.  Meantime, they removed all the light bulbs in the apartment and continued the wait. Karam arrived home shortly after 10 p.m. and tried unsuccessfully to switch on the lights. He then went into his darkened bedroom where the two men were hiding, and they carried out their plan.

A blanket was thrown over Karam’s head and he was knocked to the floor. During a struggle on the floor both men beat him into submission with their fists. He became exhausted and lay still whilst Young went through his pockets.

The robbers left him on the floor bleeding from a head wound and fled with over US$2,500 and ₤295 in cash together with a wallet containing personal items. Karam was able to crawl to an adjoining apartment and summon help. He was rushed to the hospital.

At about 10.25 p.m. I was working the night CID duty shift with Pc Malcolm Hinds who was on loan to CID as a partner from Central uniform watch. We attended the scene of the robbery at ‘Galdwyn Apts’, King Street, Hamilton where we saw significant signs of a fight in Karam’s apartment.  I closed off the apartment and instructed a police guard that no-one was to enter. I informed Police Operations of my findings and requested forensic assistance immediately.

At 10.55 p.m. we went to K.E.M.H. where we saw that Karam had been badly beaten about his head, face and stomach. He was in a state of shock and unresponsive to questions.  There was apprehension that Karam might not survive the beating. Any questioning of Karam was impossible due to his state of shock. I detailed Pc Hinds to remain at the hospital and I returned to ‘Gladwyn’ to meet with scenes of crime officer Dc Calvin Christopher. I alerted Pc Hinds and the nursing staff to contact me immediately should there be any further deterioration in Karam’s condition. I considered the possibility of the need for a dying declaration.

On entering the secured apartment with Dc Christopher I saw that:-

• There was no immediate sign of a forced entry.
• Three light bulbs appeared to have been removed from a chandelier and placed upon a dice table nearby.
• Two empty Heineken beer bottles; one empty Tuborg beer bottle and one full and unopened Heineken beer bottle with a clean white handkerchief wrapped around it, - all lying on a dresser top.
• Two white handkerchiefs’ with twisted ends, consistent with having been used as face coverings – lying on a sofa near the scene of the struggle.
• An overturned wooden bench lying on top of a pair of gent’s spectacles
• A man’s broken wristwatch and a tie-pin lying on the floor together with patches of what appeared to be dried blood.
• A grey coloured army blanket on the floor in the area of the supposed struggle.

Dc Christopher continued working the crime scene throughout the night.

At 12.10 a.m.  D/Superintendent Frank Hammond attended the scene and with him I went to Apartment No.6 but we received no reply to our knocks.

Initially working alone, I commenced what turned out to be convoluted enquiries at the adjoining apartments inside one of which, No.6, whilst questioning the inhabitant, I saw in full view certain articles of obviously stolen property. Pc Hinds joined me from the hospital and an arrest was made and certain stolen property recovered – not connected with the case under investigation

Resulting from information received and believing that someone else was hidden in apartment No.6, I requested further personnel assistance. Pc Hinds and I were joined around 4.00 a.m. by Pc Ralph Sealy. I sent Pc Sealy to the rear of No.6 and heard him shouting to someone. I continued knocking on the front door and announced ‘Police, open up’. There was still no reply.

From inside the apartment I could hear the sound of someone moving about together with sounds consistent with furniture being moved around. I saw a dim light shining through a curtain. Someone or something was moving around inside the apartment. I continued knocking and after six minutes from the first knock a man who identified himself as Grenville Chesterfield Saltus opened the door and invited us in. I saw he was shaking and trembling. I asked why and he replied, “Just cops that’s all.”

I asked why he had not opened the door to us earlier than he did, he replied, “Why should I open the door to the likes of you.” He slumped down in a chair as if exhausted. He muttered that we should not disturb him and that we had nothing on him anyhow. I explained the nature of our enquiries and asked where he had been throughout the evening. He replied, “Drinking alone round and about.” Pc Hinds spoke to him and received the replies, “I came in alone” and “You are entitled to your opinion.”

I said to Saltus, “I am arresting you on suspicion of having committed a felony. You are not obliged to say anything unless you wish to do so but what you say may be put into writing and given in evidence.”

Saltus said, “Search all you like Al Capone. If you find anything I’ve just got back.”

In company with Pc Hinds and Pc Sealy I made a cursory search of No.6 and took possession of certain articles of clothing and a tie rack from the wardrobe. I saw what appeared to be blood stains on the front of a dark blue leather jacket being worn by Saltus.

Continuing the enquiries later that same morning a detailed search was conducted of No.6 by CID officers led by D/Sgt Brinley Jones. Recovered from behind a wardrobe and a clothes dresser was cash and property belonging to Karem

Saltus was later charged and remanded in custody pending the arrest of his accomplice Ronald Young some days later. Both were charged with being concerned together in the armed robbery and both pleaded guilty in arraignments at the Easter Term of the Criminal Assizes.

Before sentencing the pair the Chief Justice, the Hon. Sir Myles Abbott, told them:

“You two men evidently worked out a successful plan, first to break into Mr. Karam’s house, then to lie in wait for him, and make a vicious attack on him; and a cowardly attack by two men on a man twice your age.  You are fortunate that he did not suffer further injuries than possibly you even expected.  He is not permanently injured but he might well have been. He might have been completely suffocated by the blanket and the blows you gave him with the pipe. This might have resulted in your being here on a very much more serious charge.”

He added that “it was a disgraceful piece of behaviour, particularly on the part of Saltus who I think was the ringleader in this conspiracy.”

In his sentencing the Chief Justice told Saltus that in addition to prison time he would get six strokes of the cane – “to teach you not to use personal violence.”

At a later Court of Appeal hearing the Appeal judges refused to reduce the sentences but they did set aside the additional punishment of six strokes of the cane in the case of Saltus. Chairman of the court, Sir Ronald Sinclair, said that the judges felt that corporal punishment should not be imposed in addition to long gaol terms. The punishment was never carried out.

Chairman of the court, Sir Ronald Sinclair, said that the judges felt that corporal punishment should not be imposed in addition to long gaol terms. “The sentences however are thoroughly deserved,” said Sir Ronald.

[The sentencing of Saltus to six strokes of the cane is believed to have been the last time such a sentence was handed down within the Bermuda jurisdiction.]

COMMISSIONER’S COMMENDATION:

Awarded to P.C. 112 G.F. Rose –

For intelligent appreciation and diligent enquiries in a brutal case of robbery with violence after a housebreaking by Grenville Chesterfield Saltus and Ronald McDonald Young

Saltus was sentenced to eighteen months and five years’ imprisonment concurrent, and six strokes of the cane. Young was sentenced to twelve months and three years’ concurrent.

Dated: 16th April 1968