Man Appears in Court on Arson Charges Arising Out of Fires in Roseau

ROSEAU, Dominica – A 26-year-old man has been remanded into custody after he appeared in a magistrate’s court on Monday charged with arson arising from last week’s fire in the capital that destroyed at nine buildings.

Buildings destroyed by fire last week in Roseau (CMC File Photo)Police Commissioner Lincoln Corbett told a news conference that Wilson Joseph, has been  charged with six counts of arson in relation to the fire which took place on May 6, and destroyed several buildings including the office of attorney, Joshua Francis, who is also  the leader of opposition United Progressive Party (UPP).

“The assessment of the public damages is ongoing,” Corbett said, adding that he police had detained two people for questioning in relation to this matter.

“One was released pending investigations and the other, Wilson Joseph of Pottersfield, was arrested on the same day and was charged with six counts of arson. He was taken to court this morning and he had been remanded in custody pending his trial,” Corbett said,

He said the police had objected to bail for Joseph and that the matter will come up again in the courts in October.

The Police Commissioner also announced that a St. Kitts and Nevis national was shot and killed in Portsmouth, north of here on Sunday night.

“On the matter of the homicide in Portsmouth, what I’ll say, the person is a Kittian national and I’ll leave it at that. The matter is very fresh in terms of investigations. I’m not prepared to say any more on this matter at this time,” Corbett told reporters.