Cabbie robbed by men who may have had a firearm

A taxi driver was robbed by two men brandishing what appeared to be a firearm, the second incident of its kind in a week.

The cabbie, a 61-year-old man from Devonshire, was attacked by two men after he picked them up by Palmetto Road at 11 p.m. on Thursday.

After taking the pair to the Lime House Lane area of Hamilton Parish one got out of the taxi returning a short time later with what appeared to be a gun.

A Police spokesman said: "The suspect demanded money from the taxi driver, who handed over a quantity of cash.

"A struggle ensued, with the second suspect exiting the taxi to join in."

The driver suffered a cut to the head in the incident and the pair made their escape along North Shore Road.

The man was treated at the scene by EMTs and was then taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital for further medical treatment.

The men are described as black and 6ft tall. One was brown-skinned and of medium build and wore a blue jacket, jeans and a dark coloured hat.

The other was dark-skinned and of slim build and wore a black shirt, sagging jeans which revealed red underpants, and a blue jacket with stripes.

Police are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information to contact the Serious Crime Unit on 299 8121 or the confidential CrimeStoppers hot line on 800 8477.

Last Sunday, a 30-year-old taxi driver from Sandys, was robbed in the Cedar Park Road area of Devonshire.

He stopped to pick up a woman who flagged him down at 11.40 p.m. but was then approached by two men, one of whom appeared to carry a firearm.

The men ordered him to get out of the car and empty his pockets, and then took his cash.

Berkeley Road home burgled

Jewellery and electronics were among the items stolen from an apartment in Pembroke.

The apartment, in Berkeley Road, was broken into between 8.15 a.m. and 5.50 p.m. on Thursday.

A Police spokesman said: "The culprits stole a quantity of electronics, jewellery and personal items. Inquiries into this incident are underway."

Burglars also got away with two video game systems from a house in Pembroke.

They stole an Xbox and a PlayStation 2 video game system, plus a black Nolan helmet and a Sony Ericsson cell phone.

The house, in Fruitland Lane, was broken into between 8.15 a.m. and 3.50 p.m. on Wednesday.

Tourist hit by handbag snatcher

Two tourists were the victims of a handbag snatch as they rode a rental scooter through Southampton.

The 54-year-old man and 53-year-old woman, from Massachusetts, were travelling west along South Road, near Middle Road, when a man rode alongside them.

He grabbed their beach bag from the rental cycle basket and then rode off.

The bag contained two beach towels and sunscreen.

Police describe the suspect as black and wearing dark-coloured clothing and a black helmet.

Any witnesses to the incident should contact the Somerset Criminal Investigation Unit on 234 1010.

Man is warned against using offensive language towards Police

A man who uttered a slew of offensive words to Police was given a conditional discharge and some advice by a Magistrate — 'hold your tongue'.

Magistrate Juan Wolffe urged 30-year-old Aron Aitken, of Brimstone Hill, Devonshire, to keep himself out of the courts after he told Police: "I am not drinking why the f**k are you asking me anything. Why the f**k are you locking me up. F**k all you guys".

The court heard that officers on mobile patrol saw Aitken on Wednesday at 3.26 a.m. cross the street and sit in a brown car, close the vehicle door and start and stop the ignition. They approached the car and saw there were several empty beer bottles on the floor.

When cautioned by Police, Aitken cursed at them and was taken to the Police station and ordered to give a sample of breath for analysis.

He failed to blow into the tube as instructed, but Police were eventually able to secure a lower reading of 280 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millimetres of blood. The legal limit is 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.

In court Aitken, represented by lawyer Mark Pettingill, pleaded guilty to the charge of offensive words and for failing to comply with a Police request for breath analysis. He was given a conditional discharge and told by Magistrate Juan Wolffe to: "Hold your tongue next time please.

He denied a further charge of impaired driving and maintained he was sitting in his car waiting for a designated driver to arrive.

Aitken said: "I told (the officers) I was getting a lift home, if they would have waited five, ten minutes they would have seen that."

Mr. Wolffe ordered him to pay a $2,000 fine and disqualified him from all vehicles for 12 months for failing to take the alco-analysis test.

Honking driver had drunk a bottle of wine

A man who admitted to drinking a bottle of red wine before getting behind the wheel was fined $1,000 in Magistrates' Court.

Frank Desilva Dias, 59, admitted to driving while impaired last year on October 17 on Montpelier Road, in Devonshire.

According to prosecutor Tawana Tannock, Police observed Desilva Dias constantly honking his horn and pulled him over to ask him about the offence.

While talking to the man, officers could smell the strong scent of alcohol on his breath and other signs of intoxication. He admitted to having some wine before driving and was formally charged with the offence.

In addition to the fine, he was given ten demerit points.

Police reissue e-mail scam warning

Police are warning members of the public not to respond to unsolicited correspondence claiming to offer prizes or rewards if they send off money.

The Financial Crime Unit says this can come in the form of e-mail, fax, letter or telephone calls. It offers the 'lucky winner' a prize or cash reward but only if they first send money to 'secure the winnings'.

Police are also warning people not to respond to e-mail requests for personal or financial account information allegedly from financial institutions.

A Police spokesman said: "The public should be wary of seemingly legitimate requests that appear to come from a local banking institution to update their personal or financial account information.

"Currently fraudulent e-mails of this nature claiming to be from HSBC Bank of Bermuda are being received by local residents. These e-mails should be ignored."

He added: "Once again, members of the public are advised to be extremely cautious when asked to send funds to persons who have contacted them unexpectedly especially via the Internet.

"If a person or entity insists that funds are transferred by means other than the banking system, additional scrutiny of the transaction is advisable."

Anyone querying their correspondence should contact the Financial Crime Unit on 295 0011

Police fire Taser gun at man

A Taser gun was used to subdue a man this weekend as he violently resisted Police arrest.

It was the first time a Taser had been used by officers since they were introduced to the Island in April.

The incident took place around 4.10 p.m. on Saturday on Middle Road in Devonshire.

"As a precaution, we have reviewed the use of Taser and can report that all the protocols in place regarding the use of the device were followed, including aftercare which was given to the affected individual," said a Police spokesperson. "The use of Taser is designed to reduce the risk of injury to the arresting officer or officers as well as the individual or individuals being arrested."

The man is expected to appear in court in due course.

BTC upgrades DSL speeds

Surfing the Internet on the Island should be a little easier for Bermuda Telephone Company (BTC) customers.

The company has announced that it has completed updates to its system to allow DSL speeds of up to 15 percent higher.

BTC President Francis Mussenden said: "This upgrade represents a significant investment in our infrastructure that will allow customers to see an immediate improvement in their service."

He said the upgrade, which was completed on May 17, was one of a series of steps to improve the broadband service.