Shooting victim left his footprints in the sands of time

Life in our small 50,000-person community of Bermudians has its advantages and disadvantages, its facts and realities.

Several times I have said or written that we Bermudians have a tendency to sanctify and glorify, or vilify and decry, rather than describe and record accurately and honestly. 

Bermuda has seen eight deaths in the past 12 months.

Each death means the loss of a loved one but also the passing of a person who has lived and who, in living, left footprints in the sands of time.

One such person is Kimwandae Walker. He first came into broad public purview in the Supreme Court on June 28, 2004.  

These quoted reports are from the archives of the Royal Gazette and are verifiable through publicly accessible court records.

Cocaine

 “An accused drug dealer had over $20,000 worth of drugs in his Warwick home when he was busted last July (2003), a police expert testified yesterday (on June 28, 2004).

 “In the third day of the trial of Kimwande (sic) Shelly Walker, 29, Police Sgt. Hayden Smalls told the court that cocaine, crack, cannabis and ecstasy found at Walker’s residence on July 26, 2003, had a street value of $20,095.”

A day later, on June 29, 2004: “Kimwande Shelly Walker, 29, of Pearman’s Hill, Warwick, has denied five charges of possession with intent to supply in relation to $20,000 worth of crack, cocaine, cannabis, and ecstasy that was found at his home on July 26, 2003.”

Still on June 29, 2004: “Defence witness Richard Medeiros told the court that the drugs had actually belonged to another man, Alexander Stevenson, who has since left the island.”

Then on June 30, 2004: “Kimwande Shelly Walker, 29, of Pearman’s Hill was cleared of charges that he had intended to sell crack, ecstasy, cocaine and cannabis police found in his home.

“After four days of proceedings, the jury took three hours to deliberate over the evidence that a police informant actually owned the drugs. After the verdict was returned, Walker was fined $5,000 for separate charges relating to his admitted marijuana habit. He pleaded guilty of having a blender for breaking up cannabis.

“Walker left the court a free man, with the mother of his son and a close family friend. They said they were ecstatic over the verdict.”

Kimwandae’s son reappears in this tale four months later — on October 22, 2004 — in Magistrates’ Court, stemming from an alleged incident on 15 October 2004.

“A 30-year-old man was charged with three firearms offences.

“Kimwande D Walker, of Highland Road, Hamilton Parish, was charged with possession of a firearm without a licence, having the firearm in a public place without lawful authority and possession of a firearm with intent of endangering the life or causing serious injury to Michael Stuart Easton.”

In December 2004, Kimwandae Walker reappeared in Magistrates’ Court. This sequence of events happened:

“When Mr. Easton was called to give evidence... he refused to answer. ‘I don’t want to give evidence in this matter because I have been threatened’, Mr Easton finally volunteered.

“Mr. Pettingill (Mr. Mark Pettingill, now an MP and who was acting Magistrate) agreed that was a very serious matter.

“Though Mr. (Graveney) Bannister (DPP’s office) asked for an adjournment... Mr. Pettingill was having none of it: ‘This is happening right now.’

“Finally Mr. Bannister nullified the charges against Mr. Walker, effectively letting both Mr. Walker and Mr. Easton off the hook. Charges may still be brought against Mr. Walker in the future”.

This case remained open for 12 months, with the DPP’s office able to raise the charge again any time within that year.

On Good Friday, April 2, 2010, it was reported that: “Kimwande Walker was flying a kite with his young son and daughter when two men rode through the school field... and shot him at 2:15pm.”

At the time, it was said there were as many as 50 to 60 people on that school field.

Out of those 50 to 60, only one man was selected, chased, targeted, shot at, run down and, while lying on the ground and with his son looking on, shot several more times and killed.

Buried

On Wednesday, May 5, in a drive-by shooting, George Peter Lynch was shot and killed while standing outside a friend’s house on My Lord’s Bay Road, Hamilton Parish.

George Lynch’s story was told in the pages of this newspaper.

On a beautiful warm and bright spring afternoon, on Sunday, April 11, 2010, Kimwandae Dennis Shelley Walker, aged 35, was buried in St. John’s churchyard. Kimwandae left his footprints.

On another beautiful warm and bright spring afternoon, just a month later, on Thursday, May 13, 2010, George Peter Lynch, 40, was buried in St. John’s Churchyard.

George did not leave the kind of footprints that Kimwandae left.

All Bermudians need to be honest about the footprints we can see and should remember the admonition set out in Matthew 26, 52: “‘Put your sword back in its place’ Jesus said to him. ‘For all who draw the sword will die by the sword’.”