Sudden death tourist named

A tourist who died suddenly while snorkeling on Wednesday has been named by the Police as 55-year-old Barbara Friedrich, of Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Police were notified of the incident onboard the Aristocat catamaran around 10:55am, when it was anchored near Hawkins Island.

A spokesman said: "It appears the victim got into difficulty while snorkeling. She was assisted back to the boat where she collapsed. CPR was performed on the visitor by the crew of the Aristocat as it headed back to land.

On the way in the Aristocat was met by Police vessel Heron 3. The victim was transferred to Heron 3, where CPR was continued by an EMT onboard. She was then rushed to KEMH via ambulance. However, she was pronounced dead at 11:36 a.m. by an on call physician at the hospital."

The spokesman said an autopsy will be carried out, but there do not appear to be any suspicious circumstances.

Sailor suffers heart attack enroute

A cruise ship was sent to the rescue of a sailboat captain who suffered a suspected heart attack en route to Bermuda yesterday.

Bermuda Maritime Operations (BMO) was notified at 4 p.m that a 58-year-old man had been taken ill on the Arabesqes, a 47-foot ketch. The vessel was 110 miles to the north west of the Island at the time, with two others onboard.

A BMO spokesman said last night: "One of his crew is a medical doctor, so he was in pretty good hands. They realised that he needed medical assistance pretty pronto so they contacted us. We contacted the Norwegian Majesty's captain, and he agreed to rendezvous. It took about three hours to get to the sailing vessel and we are waiting for confirmation that the transfer was successful. The cruise ship has got more medical facilities onboard and can administer more drugs and monitor his heart."

The Norwegian Majesty left Bermuda yesterday lunchtime, and is set to continue to Charleston, South Carolina. It is expected to be several hours late due to the emergency assistance rendered. Meanwhile, the two remaining crew on the Arabesqes will carry on to Bermuda.

Three homes burgled

Details of three burglaries have been outlined in the latest Police crime round-up.

The first incident in St. Anne's Road, Southampton, was reported at 2:40 p.m. on Wednesday. The victim said her home was raided while it was unoccupied sometime from Tuesday onwards. A 32" Toshiba plasma TV with DVD player was taken along with coins and personal items.

At 10:30 p.m on Wednesday, Police attended a reported burglary in Grotto View Hill, Smith's Parish. The complainants said the break-in occurred sometime between Friday, November 2 and 10.15 p.m on Wednesday while they were overseas. A Sony PlayStation 2 video game system, four PlayStation 2 games and three DVDs were taken.

Police were notified of a further burglary in Crada Glen, Paget, at 6.55 a.m yesterday. The victims said their home was burgled some time between 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday and 6:30 a.m yesterday.

The stolen items were a laptop computer, a Samsung cellular phone, a calculator in a case, a computer bag and cash.

Paget man fined for cannabis

Possessing 2.08 grams of cannabis proved costly for a 39-year-old Paget man who was fined $800 at Magistrates' Court yesterday.

Crown counsel Cindy Clarke told the court that Police on mobile patrol on Court Street observed Ernest Charles McQueen acting suspiciously on July 6.

Officers saw McQueen, of Cherry Hill Park, walking in a northerly direction. When McQueen noticed Police were watching him, he turned around and walked in the other direction.

The cigarette was recovered and he was searched.

"It's just Samson and a little weed," he told officers. Police searched him and found a similar substance inside a clear plastic bag inside his wallet. "It's weed, I bought it ten minutes ago," McQueen confessed.

In court, McQueen pleaded guilty to possessing a controlled drug, before Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner handed down the fine.

Cameras caught thief at Swizzle Inn

A Pembroke man who admitted in Magistrates' Court to stealing $580 in cash from the Swizzle Inn restaurant in Hamilton Parish is awaiting sentencing.

The court heard that Andrew Eugene Samuels, 22, of Princess Street, Pembroke, entered the establishment on October 25, 2007, as a contractor for another company. He was observed on a CCTV camera entering a storage room and opening an unlocked cash box and removing the cash and putting it in his pocket.

At that point, Samuels noticed the security camera and ripped it off of the wall. When the money was discovered missing, footage from the surveillance camera identified him.

The camera was worth more than $500. After he was arrested for the offences, he invited Police to search his home to recover the cash.

There officers only found $350. Magistrate Archibald Warner adjourned the matter until December 20, for sentencing, pending a social inquiry report.

'Out of character but still unacceptable'

A remorseful Devonshire woman was shown leniency after admitting she assaulted her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend in an unprovoked attack.

Crown counsel Cindy Clarke told the Court that Terica Talbot, 26, of Long Ridge Pass, delivered several punches to the face of Samantha Smith on June 2.

Apparently, Talbot stopped by the house of her boyfriend, who lives with his grandmother and shares a daughter with the victim, to discover that Ms Smith was also there.

Feeling "disrespected" she reacted angrily, Talbot told Magistrates' Court.

The victim sustained bruising and some bleeding as a result, but required no hospital treatment.

Talbot was later arrested by Police. She told Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner yesterday: "I apologise for wasting your time, it will never happen again. It was out of anger against someone who I felt disrespected me."