Mayreau residents seize thief

Maureau residents say they have carried out a citizens arrest on a man believed to have been terrorizing the island.

Mayreau resident Annie Adams told SEARCHLIGHT that Paul Grant was nabbed after a series of struggles that resulted when a security guard spotted Grant in a house. {{more}}

She said that on Monday about 7:50 p.m., Patrick Forde was going to his job as a security guard at the school on Mayreau when he spotted Grant in the downstairs of a shop owned by Joan Forde. The security officer then entered the downstairs at which time a struggle ensued. Adams said Grant was caught naked, which made him hard to hold on to. A number of other residents helped in Grant’s apprehension, which was not made easy as he managed to escape twice before residents finally tied him up and took him via speedboat to the police station in Ashton, Union Island.

Adams said there have been several break-ins of yachts and houses on Mayreau in recent times. A blind man, reputed to be the oldest man on Mayreau, has also been the victim of a burglary.

Adams remarked, “It’s the first time I sleep with my door open,” in months following the citizens arrest.

According to Adams, a security firm was formed by another resident, Owen Isaac, with the sole purpose of stopping burglary on the island which had been scaring away tourists.

Mayreau, a small island in the Grenadines chain, depends on tourism revenues as the main income earner.

Grant was charged by the Ashton police for burglary with intent and is being kept in custody until his trial.