Editors note – We recently published an article entitled “Webber goes for a swim” about a persistent criminal, Edward “Doc” Richardson, being arrested and convicted of prowling in May 1984 after a team of police officers carried out night-time observations in an area off Pitts Bay Road and Fairylands which was being subjected to a series of break-ins and reports of prowling. The team of detectives, led by Detective Inspector George Rose, carried out the surveillance after D/I Rose chose suitable key spots for their observations by carefully studying maps of the area.  The planning paid off because  on their first night a crouching figure was spotted on the roof of a house and as he dropped to the ground  he was clearly seen by torchlight and was instantly recognised as Edward “Doc” Richardson who was well known to the police. 

Richardson was chased on foot but managed to get away by jumping into the sea at Soncy Bay, however,  he was arrested the next day, admitted the offence, and was taken to court where he was sentenced to 12 months in prison for prowling. There were no more crime complaints in the area for many months after his conviction.  CLICK HERE to view "Webber goes for a swim".

Shortly after the above article was published we received the following correspondence from our good friend and former detective, Robert “Bob”  Kinnon who had served here in the Bermuda Police from 1973 – 1980, mostly in CID.   Bob described in detail an almost identical case that occurred in exactly the same area 8 years previously  at which time he headed a team of detectives who carried out observations resulting in the chase after and arrest and subsequent conviction of a man for numerous break-ins in the same area.  The culprit was none other than the Kenneth "Doc" Richardson.

D.C. Robert "Bob"Kinnon 

“I read with interest George Rose's article on "Webber goes for a Swim" regarding  Edward “Doc” Richardson. It brought back memories of late 1976  when I was working in Central CID. 

Clive Donald was the Detective Chief Inspector and we were experiencing a  large number of night-time housebreakings in the Pitts Bay / Fairylands area. I did some research and obtained an ordnance survey map and it appeared apparent to me that whoever was responsible was using the Tribe Road, I believe No 3, near to Field House as a route to commit these housebreaking  offences. I went to DCI Donald and asked him to write me off for a week in order that I could carry out night-time obervations in the area of these break-ins. 

D.C. Gerry Benson

At this time Gerry Benson was working in uniform in Central Division and I asked if Gerry could be seconded to carry out the observations with me. Mr. Donald readily agreed to it and Gerry and I commenced observations  working through the night.

Editors note -  Gerry was an excellent choice for this operation because he was superfit and could "run a country mile"!

We secreted ourselves in a bush in a garden on Pitts Bay Road looking directly up the Tribe Road. There were no street lights and it was completely pitch black. On the third night of observations we saw a figure walking towards us down the Tribe Road and we only saw him because he was holding a cigarette in his hand with the end of the cigarette glowing red. This person walked right by us and we were convinced this was our man and that he was on his way to commit housebreakings.

We decided to stay where we were and let him go and commit an offence and wait for him to come back and we would then arrest him.  A short time later we heard over the police radio that a man had been disturbed breaking into a house in the Pitts Bay area and we stayed our ground hoping to catch him on his way back. Guess what!  Much to our annoyance he, for whatever reason, did not come back onto the Tribe Road. We were gutted but were convinced we were in the right spot. 

We continued our observations and were joined by D.C's Stuart Donaldson and Frank DeAllie. It was not until three nights later the same person passed us on the Tribe Road heading towards the Pitts Bay area. Once again we decided to stay our ground.  Some time later we heard on the radio that a man had been disturbed again committing a housebreaking offence in the same area. This time, shortly afterwards, he appeared on the Tribe Road. Both Gerry and I left our position and after a short chase he was tackled by Stuart Donaldson, and after a struggle we arrested the man. We held him to the ground and searched him, and in his pocket he had a sharp hook knife, a tear gas pistol, and a pillow case with eye holes cut out. He also had a quantity of Canadian bank notes, and jewellery which had been taken from the housebreaking. 

D.C. Stuart Donaldson

The culprit was  Edward “Doc” Richardson. He was detained and interviewed the next day by Stuart Donaldson and fully admitted the housebreaking as well as a large number of  housebreakings to be "Taken into Consideration” when he appeared in court”.

The following article appeared in the Royal Gazette on 29th January 1977.

They were: breaking and entering a dwelling house and stealing $20 cash; attempting to break and enter a dwelling house with intent to steal; possessing a prohibited weapon, namely a tear gas pistol with intent to commit an indictable offence, namely break, enter and steal; possessing housebreaking instruments in the night-time without lawful excuse, namely a knife, a pair of gloves and a mask. Miss Shirley Simmons appeared on behalf of Richardson and said she was standing in for Mrs. Lois Browne Evans M.P. who would be handling the case. She asked that Richardson be allowed bail. Following objections from Crown Counsel, Mr. Robin McMillan, the magistrate remanded Richardson in custody until February 8 when he will reappear for mention.

Richardson eventually appeared at Supreme Court as reported in the following article in the Royal Gazette dated 8th March 1977:-  

Puisne Judge The Hon. Earle Seaton

Mrs. Priya DeSoysa, Crown Counsel, said that after he was arrested Richardson asked for 23 other offences involving house-breakings to be taken into consideration. Mr. Peter Smith, defending Richardson, said his client had gone to pieces after his relationship with a woman came to a tragic end when she died last year. Instead of accepting the situation and trying to make a new life for himself, he had tried to console himself with gambling, motivated by plain misery and loneliness. He was living off the proceeds of his crimes. 

Although he had previous convictions before 1964, he had stayed out of trouble for more than ten years until the woman’s good influence had been removed with her death. Mr. Smith said his client had told him that the cause of the trouble was his wrong attitude to the death of the woman and he realised he had got to change or he would end up in prison all his life. Sentencing Richardson, Mr. Seaton said: “It would seem that you went on a rampage of housebreaking.” He deserved a long custodial sentence, the Puisne Judge said, but defence counsel had moved him to leniency. On the first count, Richardson was sentenced to 12 months in prison, on the second count, four years in prison — those two sentences to run concurrently. On the third count, he was sentenced to 12 months in prison, to run concurrently with 12 months in prison for the fourth count, but consecutively to the sentences for the first two counts.

Their Commendations read: ‘For zeal, initiative and voluntary dedication to duty culminating in the arrest and conviction of an armed man for numerous housebreakings over a period of time in the vicinity of Pitts Bay Road, Pembroke. Through their efforts, Edward Richardson was eventually arrested, armed with a tear gas gun, and was recently jailed for five years in the Supreme Court after being convicted of the break-ins.

In short Bob identified an issue in respect of offences in and around the Pitts Bay/Fairylands areas and analysed the circumstances in so far as time, day, date, location, M/O, property stolen, type of premises etc and identified the pattern. Some years later we would create an office/standing for such work in the form of a Crime Pattern Analyst!  Bob, with the approval of Mr Donald, made physical visits to the areas and then decided a course of action which paid dividends in the subsequent arrest.

There is no question that Bob Kinnon has been an outstanding detective officer which is shown, in this one example, as above.  I will attempt to qualify that statement by relating to you that when Bob returned to the UK and resumed police duties in the West Yorkshire Police he continued to display his investigative abilities, regardless of his rank, and had numerous high profile results, particularly when he was seconded to the Regional Crime Squad.  His abilities, dedication and the like were recognised on a number of occasions and, at Inspector rank when he should have been managing issues rather than being at the 'sharp end', he was named as the outstanding detective officer and given a prestigious award, The Dennis Hoban Award, by the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police Authority, in recognition of his commitment/ability and achievements.

Bob's abilities led to him, following retirement from West Yorkshire Police, to being 'headhunted' to conduct enquiries, investigations and work in operations revolving around 'the troubles' in Northern Ireland.

George Rose undoubtedly recognised Bob's abilities/dedication as I believe it was George who was instrumental in having Bob work for him when George was in charge of Narcotics. 

Retired Supt. George Rose

INTRODUCTION

As one of two Detective Inspectors working out of the Hamilton CID office in the mid-1980’s it was my job to monitor and act as necessary on all criminal activity taking place throughout the Island on a 24-hour basis. To this end and commensurate with ongoing reports of trespass and house breakings of residences along Pitts Bay Road, Pembroke I decided to conduct covert physical surveillance in the area in an effort to capture the person(s) responsible. It was noted that one particularly large two-story house seemed to attract prowlers and thieves of opportunity on a frequent basis, and after the lady of the house had again reported that she was missing cash from her handbag left unattended on an inside chair close to the kitchen door, I decided to act.

On Wednesday, May 16^th, 1984 together with Dc Stevie Lightbourne I engaged on a morning foot patrol over the area along of Pitts Bay Road including Point Shares and Mill Shares. We spoke to a house guest at Colonel Pudney’s residence who had been victim of theft some days earlier and to a gardener who accompanied us during a tour of the area showing us likely escape routes. Later that morning I obtained helpful ariel photographs of Fairylands from Dc Roddy Barclay at SOCO.

The following morning, in preparation for working split-shift duties in the coming days, I collected handheld personal radios before resuming duties at 8.0pm that night when I joined Dc’s Jonathan Smith and Stevie Lightbourne in a foot patrol around Point Shares before taking up concealed observations at Col. Pudney’s residence. Heavy rain downpours occurred thereafter and further observations were halted until 10.0pm when the rain ceased and we decided to take up observations around a residence lying to the west off Pitts Bay Road, opposite Turnstile Lane. By prior arrangements with a friendly householder nearby we concealed the CID car in her garage and quietly walked the short distance to the house.

Soncy Bay

In order to provide difficult but adequate visual coverage of the exterior of the house, Dc’s Smith and Lightbourne each took up a concealed position at diagonally opposing corners of the residence from where one officer could cover any activity along the front and one side, while the other could see along the rear and remaining side of the house.

At 10.25pm I concealed myself at the southeastern corner of the residence at a distance away from the house which enabled me to see the changing rooftop levels stretching along the northeastern run of the dwelling.

Fifteen minutes later, at 10.40pm, I saw a crouching figure on the upper roof of the southeastern section of the house making his way from the south in a northerly direction. As I watched I saw the figure drop down from this upper roof level to a lower level covering the northernmost of two porches along the eastern side of the house. I broke cover and quickly moved closer to the northeastern corner of the house from where I clearly saw the crouching figure pause for some minutes at a lighted upper window above the porch. I saw that the figure was holding a pole similar to a broom handle in his left hand. Whilst the figure had his back to me and was seemingly concentrating on the lighted window, I continued walking northerly to a point past the chimney where I stood silently beneath the eaves. I was now hidden directly beneath the lighted window and could hear scuffling noises above me.

Momentarily the same figure dangled his legs down from the porch rooftop and dropped on his feet a short distance in front of me. We were both briefly startled as I shone my torchlight onto the prowler’s face and instantly identified the figure as Edward ‘Doc’ Richardson whom I knew well. I said, “Doc Richardson. The Police.”

Still holding the pole Richardson instantly turned away from me and sprinted first north and then turning west towards the harbour waters. I chased after him shouting loudly “Coming to you John.” As I cleared the northwest corner of the house, I saw Dc Lightbourne coming from my left and he joined in the pursuit of Richrdson some yards ahead of me.

I followed Dc Lightbourne down a steep grassy slope towards the rocky shoreline of Soncy Bay where I joined him on the rocks just in time to see Richardson dive headlong into the sea. We were then joined by Dc Smith and I told them both that I had positively identified the culprit as “Doc” Richardson. The three of us focused our torches on Richardson as he swam southwesterly away from us.

Some five yards from the shoreline he turned his face three-quarters to us presumably in an effort to see if we were following him into the choppy water. I again recognized the swimmer to be ‘Doc’ Richardson, as did Dc Lightbourne. We did not enter the water after him but I shouted to him, “Doc, it’s too rough. Come in.”

He continued swimming towards a nearby moored yacht and by our collective torchlights we saw him work his way around the bow and disappear from sight behind the yacht. I coordinated a general search procedure by both land patrols and the use of a marine police boat from their nearby Barrs Bay Park station who searched the yacht where we last saw Richardson and the other yachts moored nearby in Soncy Bay. There was no further gain that evening.

Early the following morning, Friday, May 18^th, together with Dc’s Smith and “Johnny” Bean we joined scenes of crime officer Dc Alderson at the house where I spoke with the owner concerning the events of the previous evening. A search of the grounds was conducted resulting in Dc Alderson taking possession of what turned out to be a four-foot-long broom handle.  

Later that morning I applied for an arrest warrant for Richardson before the Senior Magistrate briefly explaining to him the circumstances leading up to the events encountered the previous evening. I then went off duty returning at 8.0pm to continue the search for Richardson.

At 10.15pm, this time in company with Dc’s Bean and Lightbourne, we spotted Richardson on Princess Street where he was arrested on the prowling warrant. I cautioned him as he was patted down and he said: “Not me. Wrong man. I was in Spinning Wheel. Check DT Tucker and Ghandhi.”

Richardson was taken to Hamilton Police Station where he was further searched. His trousers were dropped to his ankles and I questioned him about a number of superficial scratches seen on his lower legs and ankles. He replied, “I got them playing football Monday.” 

He was taken to the King Edward Memorial Hospital where he agreed to a doctor’s examination. On leaving the hospital Richardson was taken to his residence above VL’s on Court Street where his soaking wet sneakers were seized from beneath his bed by Dc Bean. Richardson was again cautioned and when asked for an explanation of their wet condition. He replied, “It’s rainwater. I got caught in the rain.”

Shortly before midnight during questioning at Central CID Richardson casually admitted to me, “Yes it was me you chased but I don’t know about nothing else. I can give you a statement.”

I remained about the office whilst Dc’s Bean and Lightbourne recorded ‘Doc’s’ statement under caution in which he admitted to the offences of prowling and unlawful trespass. The statement was followed by a series of recorded questions and answers but he would not admit to any further criminal activity. He explained in his statement that he’d been on the property when the heavy rain began and that he’d taken shelter in the lee during the rolling rainfall episodes. He said that as soon as the rain had stopped, he’d climbed up on the roof. [It is clear from this admission that Richardson was likely on the roof along the western side of the house at precisely the time that we were quietly assembling ourselves around the property.]

Richardson denied having taken the broom handle with him to the house saying that he’d found it lodged in the guttering on the roof. He admitted to having tried to raise the window screen above the porch but hadn’t done so because it would have created more noise than he wished. He denied attempting to break-in or having a felonious intent in mind. He admitted that the scratch abrasions on his legs were the result of his initial climbing access to the roof.  

He was further detained over the weekend during which time he was variously interviewed in relation to investigations of outstanding offences in the wider area. He continued with his denial of any involvement. 

Pc Plant said that Richardson had run off when approached by the policemen and was arrested the following day. In a statement to Police, Richardson said he had wanted to look at a woman in the house.

Before sentencing Richardson to jail for 12 months for prowling, Senior Magistrate the Wor. Gerald Price told him he was lucky not to be appearing in the Supreme Court, as he would be facing a possible prison sentence of up to five years.

Richardson apologized to the court, saying: “I was depressed at the time, and I’m sorry.”

NOTE: Interestingly, there were no further crime complaints received from the area in the months thereafter.