The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

THE man shot dead outside of his North Street home on Tuesday is Rico Archer, brother of 11-year-old Marco Archer, who was killed seven years ago.

The elder Archer, according to police, was found shot to death in a yard in the Fort Fincastle community shortly after 8pm.

Tuesday night, as the hearse carrying the body departed the scene, family had to be restrained from grabbing on to it.

One of his relatives could be heard screaming: “Y’all killed Rico, y’all kill my brother, they kill Rico, y’all kill my brother, y’all gon’ sleep good tonight, I hope y’all sleep good tonight.”

Attempts by The Tribune yesterday to speak with the grieving family were unsuccessful.

When contacted for an update on the case, Chief Superintendent Solomon Cash confirmed that one person was in custody and another was being sought in connection with the matter.

According to CSP Cash, both are considered persons of interest in the case.

“We are following a number of leads, significant leads and we are working to have this matter resolved,” he told The Tribune.

Of the deceased, CSP Cash said the victim was not known to police and was believed to be a resident of Fort Fincastle community. Tuesday’s murder and another killing on First Street, Coconut Grove on Wednesday night, took the total number for the year to 85.

Archer’s family is no stranger to tragedy.

In late September 2011, young Marco’s body was found covered in bushes behind an apartment complex on Yorkshire Drive in western New Providence. It was determined he died as a result of blunt force trauma to his head. His death unnerved the nation and was cited as a reason to strengthen laws and mechanisms for the protection of children. 

Kofhe Goodman was originally convicted of murdering Marco on August 2, 2013. That conviction and death sentence were overturned by the Court of Appeal in 2016 due to pre-trial publicity, the behaviour of Goodman’s former lawyer and a jury irregularity.

In a retrial, he was represented by Wayne Munroe.

In May, Goodman was sentenced to 55 years in prison for the killing.

Marco’s death sparked amendments to the Sexual Offences Act and the Child Protection Act, which were supposed to create a sexual offenders register, and a MARCO Alert for missing children, respectively.

The sexual offenders register would place all persons who are convicted of sexual offences on the proposed list.

The Child Protection Amendment Act 2014 came into operation on August 26, 2015. The government implemented the MARCO Alert system in July 2016; however, a sexual offenders register has not been introduced to date.

Meanwhile anyone with information on Tuesday’s murder is asked to contact the Central Detective Unit on 502-9991/2, Crime Stoppers on 328-TIPS (8477) or the nearest police station.