Marigot: ---- A well-known talk show host on MSR cable Jean Mark Sharpless (host of the Markavelli Show) which airs on MSR cable was arrested early Sunday morning at his Cripple Gate home for the fatal shooting of Rigobert Bertin Maurice (20).
Maurice was shot while he was in his car which was parked in front of the Collectivity somewhere just after 10 pm on Thursday night. A female who was in the car at the time of the shooting has escaped unhurt. However, she was questioned by law enforcement on several occasions leading up to the arrest of Sharpless.
Maurice was hired some two days ago by the Collectivity and was working in service technique says his aunt Rollena Bertin-Maurice, a senior employee of the tourist office.
According to information reaching SMN News, the suspect who fired several shots at Rigobert Bertin Maurice fits the description of the talk show host who is tall and slim. He was said to be wearing a mask and was dressed in black when the shooting took place said several eyewitnesses. SMN News also learnt that Bertin Maurice received the first gunshot while sitting in his car but he tried running away from his assailant who continued to shoot at him as he ran. According to reports, Bertin Maurice fell on the vehicle of another well-known talk show host Billy D where he passed away.
On Thursday, Jean Mark Sharpless (Markavelli) parked in the victim’s parking space, which caused an altercation.
On Saturday, Sharpless spoke to SMN News after we contacted him for a statement. Sharpless said because of the altercation that occurred while he was at the COM working everyone in the community suspected he killed Bertin- Maurice. The young camera operator and talk show host said several persons in the community have called him suspecting that he might be the one responsible for the shooting. However, he was amazed that the gendarmes had not contacted him and they were in possession of his telephone numbers. . Explaining what took place on Thursday Sharpless said he parked his vehicle in the vicinity of the Collectivity as he and his colleagues went to install their equipments to air the council meeting live on MSR Cable Network.
He said at one point a territorial police told him he could not park next the COM since the parking around the COM have to be reserved for the elected officials. Sharpless said before he removed his vehicle another officer came and instructed his colleague to leave Sharpless, park in the vicinity of the COM since he was working there at the time.
Sharpless said at that point the officer removed a barricade and instructed him where to park but the victim who was on the block told him if he parked his vehicle there, he would damage it. Sharpless further explained that he ignored the young man because they had prior altercations, he said he went back inside the Collectivity to continue his work. Sharpless said that even though he had problems in the past with the victim they had settled their dispute.
Sharpless said at one point he even left the COM to interview and elderly man who was also leaving the island. He said when he returned to the COM and was inside a territorial police came inside the Collectivity and told him that the young man with whom he had the argument was releasing the air from his car tires, which was still parked in the allotted parking space.
Sharpless said when he saw what the young man was doing he took out his cellular phone and took a picture of the young man who was at the time releasing the air from his tires and he went back inside. He said there were territorial police as well the chief of the territorial police Flavien Bazile whom he said witnessed what Maurice was doing but no one intervened.
The talk show host said shortly after that the now dead man entered the COM and started an argument with him, wanting to know why he took a picture of him. Sharpless said the youth even wanted his phone. Asked by this reporter to provide the phone and the photograph that he took, Sharpless said the phone got damaged. However, he claimed he still had the phone at home.
Jean Mark Sharpless well known as Markavelli said he worked until the council meeting ended that night which was shortly after 8pm. Sharpless said he did not know of the killing until the following morning when the same territorial police who saw what Bertin-Maurice was doing called him to inform him the young man’s death. Sharpless said while everyone in the community was talking about the killing and have already accused him of the killing the gendarmes had not contacted him even though they had his telephone numbers.
Sharpless said that he also understood that Bertin-Maurice also had some other confrontation that day but he did not know with whom. “While several persons saw what went on Thursday, they believe I am the one that killed the young man. Some of them even called offering support while others were saying they were willing to give statements of the incident,” he said.
This media house has been reliably informed that the gendarmes were fully aware of the incident with Sharpless and the victim from the time they began the investigation but were making sure they were on to the right man. In a press release, issued on September 24, the gendarmes said Maurice died around 10:20 pm from multiple gunshot wounds.
Media Houses chided for Printing false Information.
Relatives of the murder victim Rigobert Bertin-Maurice has chided the Daily Herald and the Pelican for printing false information on the front page of the Daily Herald on Saturday regarding victim who was shot. In the Saturday’ edition of the Daily Herald it states he wrong name under the photograph that was provided by the family for a death announcement adverstisement.
Most importantly the newspaper stated that the victim had several run ins with the law, and was well known to the justice system. According to two of the victim’s aunts Rollena Bertin- Maurice and Rosemurie Hodge said their nephew had a clean police record. They said the young man not long ago came back from the French army.
The elder Bertin-Maurice said her relatives plan to take action against both media houses who chose to smear the now dead man as they are mourning his sudden lost. “We will be demanding from the The Daily Herald to print a retraction on their front page and not in the back. We will not take this lightly, how can a newspaper get away with printing false information about people they asked. Furthermore, the family said the Daily Herald used a photograph of Bertin-Maurice which they provided for a death announcement. “They used the photpgraph my brother (victim’s father) took to the newspapwer without his permission on the Front Page of the newspaper. The family said they would be taking action against the newspaper for using the photograph for the wrong purpose.
Rollena Bertin-Maurice said she would be a guest on Talking Point, hosted by Billy D on Monday morning to clear the air regarding her late nephew. The woman said while the Pelican did not print the story on Saturday they would have to explain why they passed on false information to another newspaper.
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