No suspects in last two homicides

By Tameika Malone
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Lawmen said that they have no one in custody for the shooting death of Andre “Smokey” Cummings, Jr., who was killed early Wednesday morning.
Inspector Frankie Thomas, police public relations officer, said yesterday that the investigation is ongoing, and members of the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda are interviewing witnesses and chasing leads.
Cummings, of St. John’s Street, was shot at approximately 1:28 a.m. while drinking with a group of people at a bar on St. George’s Street. Witnesses reported seeing two men, dressed in dark clothing, emerge from a waiting vehicle and open fire before fleeing in the car.
The victim was struck multiple times and fled into the street before he collapsed. He was pronounced dead at the scene, two days before his 28th birthday.
At the time of his death, Cummings, a painter by trade, was on bail for a shooting incident that occurred last year. He was employed at a Hodges Bay property.
Police believe that the Cummings killing may be in reprisal for the shooting death of Babu Jardine at his Villa home on November 7.
Police said that they responded to an emergency call about a male body lying in some bushes off Dyett Street in Villa.
First responders found the lifeless body of Jardine dressed only in a pair of multi-coloured boxer shorts. The father of one was shot in the abdomen in what police termed a drive-by shooting. A medical doctor pronounced the thirty-one-year-old dead at the scene. As of last evening, police said that there are no suspects in custody.
At the time of the murder, Jardine was on bail for a number of offences including unlawful wounding, threatening language, disorderly conduct, and trespassing.