Fugitive wanted in St Maarten is deported from St Kitts

A Grenadian national who escaped from a prison in St Maarten last year before being found in St Kitts in July has been deported from the federation.

The St Maarten Daily Herald newspaper is reporting that the order to send Kathron Fortune back to the Dutch island was taken by St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Timothy Harris.

“The summary court on St Kitts ruled on Friday that Kathron Fortune, also known as “Cuchi”, gained illegal entry into the territory of St Kitts and Nevis and – subsequently - ruled that Fortune should be deported as an illegal alien,” according to the newspaper.

Weapons and drugs

Grenada-born Kathron Fortune is suspected to have been involved with a number of murders.

According to police in St Kitts and Nevis, Fortune was serving a 21-year sentence for murder.

Fortune has been on the run since February 2016 after he was taken to a doctor’s clinic in Cay Hill, when he managed to draw a gun on the two guards who were with him at the time.

He took off on foot and was picked up by an unmarked vehicle, and had been on the run ever since.

He was found in possession of a high-powered rifle and scope, a bullet proof vest, a backpack containing a quantity of cured marijuana, hashish, and a small sum of US money.

“As Kathron Fortune travelled from St Maarten to St Kitts and Nevis previously, and also has Dutch nationality, authorities there decided to return Fortune to St Maarten,” the paper reported.

Commissioner of Police Ian M Queeley said: St Kitts and Nevis will not be a haven for fugitives, and the Royal St Christopher and Nevis Police Force will continue to collaborate with its regional and international partners to ensure that justice is not denied in any jurisdiction.