June 3, 2008 — After the bodies of two young men were found last month at the Tutu Valley basketball court, police and other government agencies launched an initiative to clean up the area in an effort to cut down on criminal activity.
Tutu Valley is considered one of the police department's "priority stops," District Police Chief Rodney Querrard said Tuesday at a press conference held at the basketball court. Reports of shots being fired in the area generally come in on a continuous basis, he said. Last month, citizen's reports led police to the body of Anell Mulrain, 19, and a 17-year-old minor, whose body was found in a set of "thick bushes" on the hill sloping down from the court, Querrard said.
Mulrain was found last month lying in the middle of the main road below the basketball court. When police arrived at the scene, Mulrain was alive but unresponsive. He died soon after of multiple gunshot wounds. (See "Third Homicide in as Many Days Hits St. Thomas.") The minor's body was found two days later.
Marijuana plants were grown at a community garden at the court, and drug paraphernalia was found at a shed on the property, said St. Thomas-Water Island Administrator Barbara Petersen. Petersen and Querrard, along with Public Works, worked together to remove the plants and tear down the shed, which took about a week.
The building of the shed and garden were authorized under a previous administration, but were not included in the original plans for the property, which belongs to the government, Petersen said.
Large boulders were also placed at the entrance to the court to prevent cars from driving onto it. This should not deter games and tournaments from being held as usual during the weekends, Querrard said. The hillside where the second body was found has been cleared of bushes and large trees so residents can see what is going on at the court, he said.
Residents in the area have complained about the cleanup efforts, but should realize that the initiative is "something that is for the benefit of the entire community," Querrard said.
Cleanup efforts will continue around the island, with crews hitting the Coki Point and Sanchez Town areas starting next week, Petersen said.
"We're not going to be doing these things any more after the fact," she said. "We're going to be taking a proactive stance and doing this a lot more often — cleaning up areas that we see are going to be a continuous problem."
No funding has been set aside for the new cleanup efforts, Petersen said.
"Once there has been a complaint filed or some other type of situation reported, it is the job of the administrator to clean it up," Petersen said. "No money is appropriated — it has to be taken care of."
Police are still following up on leads in connection with last month's Tutu Valley shootings. Residents can call 715-5534, 715-5543, 715-5548 or 911 with any information.
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