Three persons allege NOBA head threatened their lives

At least three persons here have lodged complaints with the police alleging that head of the National Omnibus Association (NOBA) Anthony ‘Code Red’ Bacchus made threats to kill them.

But Bacchus, while admitting he used the words, says he did so because he was being attacked.{{more}}

Taxi drivers Conrad Sergeant and Kendol ‘Kenlyn’ Neverson as well as vendor Tyrone Woodley of Sion Hill, have accused Bacchus of issuing them with threats.

Giving his account of the alleged incident, Sergeant, a resident of Diamond, on Wednesday told SEARCHLIGHT that while driving on Monday, he came alongside Bacchus in the traffic at Arnos Vale.

“We always joke around and always interact. I pull alongside him and say ‘Strike on, strike off, strike on, strike off’ and I go my way with the intention that that he would have meet me the next day and come up with some kind of jokes. But I surprised he come with violence,” Sergeant said.

According to the taxi driver, while driving on Upper Bay Street the following day, sometime after 4 p.m., Bacchus unleashed a verbal onslaught on him.

“He said: ‘Aye, you, don’t (expletive) with me. You know who you (expletive) with. I am a Muslim. I go throw a bullet in yo (expletive) head’.

Sergeant said he was shocked, so he parked his vehicle further down Bay Street and went to Little Tokyo to confront Bacchus.

“Ah say ‘Code Red what happened? I was just joking with you’.

“He tell me he ain’t making no (expletive) jokes. ‘I is a (expletive) Muslim, boy.’ The guy get in a rage,” Sergeant said, adding that he never expected Bacchus to react in that way.

He claimed that Bacchus had a gun on his person was urging him (Sergeant) to touch him.

Neverson, who operates a shop at Little Tokyo in addition to operating a taxi,

told SEARCHLIGHT that on Tuesday, he called in to the Hot 97 ‘AM Mayhem’ radio show, hosted by Chris ‘2kool Chris’ Jones to share his view on the minibus strike, which had been called off by the NOBA after government met their demands.

“My comment was very simple based on the NOBA president, by just stating that the minibus association president should go to hell in a piece of coconut shell. Just share a bit of humor and left it there,” he said.

Neverson claims that later that day, at about 1 p.m., he was sitting in his shop when he saw Bacchus’ van parked close to the exit gate of the bus terminal.

“I saw Code Red looking to my direction and his hands and mouth going… I went out and told him I couldn’t hear what he was saying, so I would come closer.

“As I draw closer to listen to what he is saying to me, he raised his head and used his index finger to haul it across his throat and saying to me that he will kill me and I don’t know is a Muslim I am messing around with and he will kill me and just what I looking for is coming to me,” Neverson recounted.

He added that he told Bacchus that he would not allow him to do that and would take care of himself to the best of his ability.

Neverson said sometime after 4 p.m., Bacchus returned and parked his vehicle in the same spot. According to Neverson, while Bacchus was parked there, he observed him having a confrontation with another man.

“…The gentleman was saying that Code Red threaten to shoot him. He told the gentleman he will kill him and he will kill Kenlyn right in lil Tokyo here.

Bacchus however has different versions to both stories.

He said on Monday, Sergeant pulled up alongside him and told him that he was a coward. “I never say anything. I finally see him in the traffic yesterday (Tuesday) and say, big man you don’t know me. Stop calling me out of my name. So I drive off and I notice he trying to catch me to argue, but I ain’t study him and I went in Tokyo.

“I parked and waiting for passengers to come and I don’t know where he come from, but he run up by the side of my window and balling up his fist and telling me he going beat me up.

“I say, ‘big man, you called me a coward yesterday’ and he say ‘you is a coward and I going beat you up’,” Bacchus said.

It was at that point he said Neverson came to where his van was.

“He come over because he got support and both of them start to threaten me and I sitting in the van so I have to fear for my life. I told them if anybody touch me, I killing them on the spot because I felt my life was in danger.

“So the crowd start to pull them away… When they threaten me by the window, I say alyo don’t know who yo dealing with is Muslim yo dealing with now.”

Another man, Tyrone Woodley also made similar claims.

“I was reading a SEARCHLIGHT Midweek and it had two different article in it with Code Red and I say the articles conflicting. Is like he hear me talking and he turn to me…” and made a threat.

Bacchus denied this.

The minibus association president said he is under a lot of pressure, following a recent fall out with the St Vincent and the Grenadines Teachers Union (SVGTU) after a proposed link-up up of their organizations to pursue separate agendas with the Government went sour.

“They are lying, calling me names, they saying I am a traitor, I ain’t got no belly, slandering my character because I didn’t strike. It’s all kinds of thing I going through. It’s a political thing going on here,” he said, adding that he too, has made a report to the police.(KW)