Man facing Status fraud charges, sues Minister, Immigration officer

A lawyer accused of attempting to obtain Bermudian status by using false documents is suing the Minister of Home Affairs and the Chief Immigration Officer.

Robert William Martyn, 41, of Smith?s Parish, filed the writ on Tuesday. Martyn, a lawyer for Westbury Ltd., owned by Canadian billionaire Michael DeGroote, appeared in court earlier this year accused of conspiring to defraud the Chief Immigration Officer in 2000 to obtain Bermudian status for his father, William Robert Martyn.

He was also accused of knowingly and fraudulently uttering a false birth certificate in his own name, on or about September 18, 2000. Martyn is also accused of giving Chief Immigration Officer Martin Brewer information which he did not believe to be true and led to Mr. Brewer granting him status. Martyn is to appear for trial on March 21, 2005.

Magistrate sets trial date for 2002 break-in

A Westgate inmate appeared briefly in the Magistrates? Court yesterday morning on a charge of breaking and entering.

Jamel Nisbett pleaded not guilty to the charge that he allegedly broke into Continental Motors in Pembroke on July 3, 2002. ?I don?t recall it. I?ve been at Westgate for the last two years,? he told Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner. Nisbet will be tried on March 9, 2005.

In another matter, Mr. Warner gave a 22-year-old woman more time to pay half of an outstanding fine. Dorika Richardson of King Street in Hamilton was found guilty of driving an unlicensed vehicle on November 18, 2003 and fined $750.

She told the court yesterday she had already paid half of the fine and pleaded with Mr. Warner to allow her more time to pay the rest. Mr. Warner obliged giving her until January 28.

Businessman issues stolen cheque warning

Businesses beware! There are some 200 stolen company cheques from Hospitality Systems Ltd. floating about.

The cheques were stolen from a car on Front Street on Tuesday night and Hospitality Systems Ltd. wanted to warn the public not to accept them. A spokesman for the company, Jeff Burgess said the cheques? sequence numbers start at 4405 and end at 4601 and are Bank of Bermuda cheques.

?I?ve cancelled them with the bank, but I?m afraid businesses will accept them. Since no one ever asks me for I.D. when I use them, I?m afraid they will be accepted,? he warned.

Mr. Burgess said he left the cheques on the rear floor of his car by mistake on Tuesday night and they were stolen sometime between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. The matter has been reported to the police and should anyone receive one of these cheques, they should contact the police as soon as possible.

Spicelands seeking apartment development

An application requesting permission to build 12 apartment units on the property of the Spicelands Riding School has been filed with the Department of Planning.

The Spice Villa apartment house development is proposing to build the units on the western side of the school property once permission is given. The riding school has also received permission to renovate an old barn on the Warwick property after it suffered hurricane damage.

And the Marsden First United Methodist Church has filed an application to make renovations and additions to their Smiths parish property. The church, located on South Breakers Road, has filed an application with the Department of Planning to build a second storey addition and a master bedroom en suite.

Permission has also been requested to build a new tank, garage and storage area.

Police issue warning on bus terminal

Police spokesman, Dwayne Caines said that there has been ?flagrant disregard? of the traffic signs at the temporary bus terminal on Church Street, Hamilton.

The signs say ?buses only? but cars are still entering to gain access to City Hall Car Park. All entry into the car park should be from Victoria and Wesley Streets.

The disregard for the traffic signs jeopardizes the safety of other road users, said Mr. Caines. ?In light of this all vehicles found violating these traffic signs will be ticketed for prosecution,? he added.

Cash, music stolen at Horseshoe Beach

A visitor had $70 and his MP3 player stolen sometime between 11.25 a.m and 11.35 a.m. while walking on Horseshoe Beach on Monday, Police said.

Later that day, Police attended a reported theft from the Opportunity Workshop on Roberts Avenue in Devonshire.

The victim said sometime between 10.30 a.m. and 3.40 p.m. someone stole her Louis Vuitton purse containing a Samsung cellular phone. Police said inquiries into these incidents are underway.