Iguana Street Murder of 51 year old man on bicycle

Steve Williams

There were two murders on Friday and four shootings in the Old Capital alone over the weekend while this morning a Punta Gorda man succumbed to chop wounds. Audio technician Rudy Cruz was brutally stabbed to death at his house at Allan Pitts Crescent. His body was discovered early on Friday morning. Cruz’s murder was followed by another in the Old Capital before midnight. Fifty-one year old Steve Williams was killed on Iguana Street where another shooting took place less than twenty-four hours later.  Williams known as a run man for the neighborhood of Pelican Street was found dead slumped over his bike on Iguana Street. Grieving family members say he was an innocent man who stayed away from trouble. News Five’s Jose Sanchez reports.

Jose Sanchez, Reporting

Police were called out twice to Iguana Street over the weekend. Fifty one year old Steven Williams, Pelican Street resident, was murdered about eleven-twenty on Friday night

Voice of: Family Member of Steven Williams

“I really never expect it; none of us expected it because all my life I know Steve and he dah noh wah trouble person. He noh get in fight. Yes he might get ina lee hard talk because he hang out on the back street, but he dah noh wah man weh get ina problem with people; he noh mess with people like that. So why they shoot him and why they kill him they way how they kill him, we just can’t understand it. Every time something like this happen and people come pan TV and people swear for their loved ones and say oh ih dah mi never trouble person and ih dah mi never this and ih dah mi neva that, but we could put fi we head on the block and say he was not a trouble man.”

Jose Sanchez

“I mean he is fifty-one years old. he is not even in the age range of people who would give trouble.”

Voice of: Family Member of Steven Williams

“No. He dah wah run man. If you need gas, if you need something fi get buy from the store or so, you go dah the back fence holla fi Steve and wah jump pahn wah bike and ih wah come.”

And that was exactly what Williams did on Friday night. The run man went on an errand but he did not return.

Inspector Fitzroy Yearwood, Police Press Officer

Fitzroy Yearwood

“They saw Steven Williams, fifty-one year old partially in a drain, leaned over a red bicycle with several gunshot wounds to the head and body. Our investigations reveal that Williams was riding on Iguana Extension and several shots were heard in the area. When neighbors came out to check, they found Williams already dead.”

Voice of: Family Member of Steven Williams

“There is a man up there weh name God and he noh sleep and whosoever kill he, ever tear weh my lee sister drop; they wah punish fi it and dehn wah punish till dehn dead because dehn kill wahn innocent man.”

Jose Sanchez

“Now in terms of who Steve was to the family…”

Voice of: Family Member of Steven Williams

“Steve dah mi everybody friend; Steve neva got no enemy. He was everybody’s friend. We got wah lotta lee kids ina our yard ina fi we family and he heng out with everybody. All dehn lee pikney wah miss him.”

And less than twenty-four hours later, there was another shooting incident on Iguana Street.

Insp. Fitzroy Yearwood

“We are looking at the possibilities where both instances occurred on the same street not too far from each other noh. We’re not certain if he was the intended target as yet, but we are canvassing that area. We have been canvassing that area since Friday and we know that a little less that twenty-four hours later, we had another shooting not too far from that area on Iguana Street. This is where a group of men were gathered and a black Astro van pulled up this time and one of the occupants of this vehicle said to one of the men in the group, Tyrone Green Gentle, “Boy come here.” And then several shots, a barrage of bullets exited the vehicle causing injuries to Gentle. Gentle is listed in stable condition at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. We are not certain if it’s a retaliation, but definitely we are trying to find out—well like you said, he was involved in several activities. So we are seeing which would be most recent or if he could identify any of his assailants.”

Tyrone Green Gentle is listed in a stable condition. Reporting for News Five, Jose Sanchez.