The curious case of the firebombing investigation

Lawyer Anthony Astaphan denounces self confessed arsonist.

What is curious about this most recent episode is that the person fingered by Shillingford as having paid him to do the crime is not even the client of the lawyer. As such questions are been asked in Dominica as to the reasons why Astaphan sees it fit to so publicly launch a personal attack against the young man.

According to Astaphan, the self described arsonist has a conviction rap sheet as long as the length of Dominica and therefore should not be believed. There is a lot about this case that is worrisome to the casual observer.

Just days after going public, Shillingford was hauled before the courts to answer an unrelated case dating back some three years. After a hasty trial he was sentenced to four years in prison. That should raise eyebrows in a case that has captured the imagination of the Dominican public.

Now for the facts. On Christmas Day 2010, the home of Glenworth Emanuel was firebombed while he slept. Emanuel succeeded in getting out safely with his wife. Police immediately launched an investigation, but to date no arrests have been made.

Emanuel had just a few months earlier filed a legal suit against his former law partner Stephen Isidore accusing him of diverting over $6 million from their partnership account. Importantly, Isidore served as lawyer to Prime Minister Roosevelt Douglas. It has since been revealed that most of the money came from individuals and businesses either contracted by the government of Dominica or wanting to do business with the government.

When the case came up for its first hearing in the magistrate court, Isidore did not appear but instead armed Police dressed in paramilitary uniforms took up positions around the courthouse. A situation unheard in Dominica. Lawyers for Isidore including Tony Astaphan successfully persuaded a high court judge to issue an injunction against the lower magistrate’s court from hearing the case. Now several months later, the case is yet to be heard and no one knows for sure when it will take place.

During the course of the investigation, Police Commissioner Cyrille Carrette promised to get help from foreign arson investigators. To date that has not happened.

Now for the curious. In April 2011 Josh Shaw writing in the New Chronicle revealed that an individual had given a confession to the Police concerning his involvement. Astaphan immediately took to the airwaves to condemn the news article. His familiarity with the details led many to believe that he may have been privy to the confession, which if true, would be in direct contravention to the morals and ethics of the Police.

But there was more. Astaphan publicly called for the Police to go to the Chronicle offices to find out ‘who was Josh Shaw’. Within hours of his public pronouncements, Police showed up at the offices of the New Chronicle demanding that the identity of Josh Shaw be revealed.

Weeks later, local Talk Show host Matt Peltier publicly revealed the identity of the individual who had given the confession to the Police. He was 24 year old Deny Shillingford from St Joseph.

Shillingford had a lot to say. He told Peltier that since coming forward to the Police he feared for his life, and that threats were been made against him. He pleaded openly for the public’s support. According to Shillingford, he was paid $400 by an individual who had since left the State, to burn down the home of the lawyer while he slept.

He went on to say that once he realized who the intended victim was, he raised his price but had not received any payments. At the same time, villagers from St Joseph revealed that Shillingford was openly selling property taken from the home of the person he accused of paying him to set the fire.

In his view, that was his way of getting payment for “his work.’ Within days of the public pronouncements, he was brought before the courts for an outstanding case. What is ironic is that the case has been pending by some counts for more than three years. After a very short trial he was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison where he remains.

For their part, Police continue to say that investigations are continuing. They admit to receiving the confession but are now saying that there are irregularities in his statements. As far as we know, no attempts have been made to contact the individual fingered by Shillingford.

What we do know is that a very prominent local lawyer Tony Astaphan is expending quite a bit of time and energy, to convince everyone who would listen that, a self confessed arsonist who could spend his life behind bars if convicted, should not be believed.

According to the learned lawyer whose client Stephen Isidore was not named in the confession, “Dominicans need to know who Denny Shillingford is. He has over 50 criminal convictions. He has a long record stretching from Capuchin to Scotts Head of criminal convictions and jail time. He was recently sentenced to four years in prison. He has a notorious reputation as a criminal and someone involved in criminal activities.”

Which makes this case all the more curious, because one would think that if you are hiring a hit man to do such a dirty deed that maybe you would look in the direction of just such an individual?