Wild and Crazy Justice on Roatán Island

The Crimmins point out that it is not uncommon to see police and members of La Fiscalía come and go from the Wesley’s hotel at odd hours with, what they presume to be, mistresses and prostitutes. This is a claim backed up by infamous local attorney Melvin Rosales, who said that it is well known that members of these groups get “special rates”.

By Karl Stanley
At just past noon on Friday, August 19, Sam Wesley -- a West End business owner with roots on Roatán Island dating back to the 1840’s -- came out of his house, pulled out a silver revolver, pressed it into Joe O’Donnell’s back, pulled the trigger and then walked back to his house without saying a word. There were at least five witnesses to the incident. As Mr. O'Donnell collapsed in the street, concerned shop owners Shannon and Christian ran to his aid, Mr. Wesley’s wife, Rosita, wagged a finger at them indicating her desire for them to leave the 40-year-old Australian dive instructor to bleed to death in the street. As a large crowd gathered, it seemed that Mrs. Wesley might get her wish. People took photos, screamed and gawked... but no one took action.

Fortunately, Paul Cleveland -- an 18-year Roatán resident was on the scene, and his military training kicked in. He stuffed one of his fingers in the bullet hole, sent someone to retrieve a bag of ice, and secured a truck to transport Mr. O'Donnell to the local hospital. Mr. Cleveland, who describes himself as a long-time good friend of Mr. Wesley, was also the first to make a statement against him. He said the crime had “no motive” other than Mr. Wesley was acting “completely on his wife’s inclination".

Mr. Cleveland also expressed amazement that Mr. Wesley could be out of jail in 24 hours. He said, “The law seems to be more concerned with cocaine possession, If Sam had been caught with a kilo they would not need anyone to make an accusation and he would still be in jail.”

Standing next to Mr.Cleveland when the shooting occurred was Frank Ebanks. Mr. Ebanks' story of what happened was consistent with that of Mr. Cleveland. Mr. Ebanks showed the exact spot on the street -- about 50 feet past the Wesley’s property -- where Mr. O’Donnell fell.

Mr. Cleveland and Eric Kellegrew, who had just finished his DMT (Diver Medic Training) at Reef Gliders, accompanied Mr.O'Donnell to the hospital, where X-rays were taken, showing the hollow point bullet lodged in Mr. O'Donnell's spine, and municipal Police Chief Joe Solomon translated for the DGIC (Criminal Investigation Division) investigator that took Mr. Cleveland's statement while Mr. Cleveland lay in his hospital bed. It was there that Adolf "Addi" Hirzer -- Mr. O'Donnell’s best friend on the island --- first saw Mr. O'Donnell following the shooting.

After completing the X-rays the, personnel at the hospital declared they had done all they could do for Mr. O'Donnell. Mr. Hirzer scrambled to find an aircraft to fly Mr. O'Donnell off the island to another hospital. In the meantime, Tropical Storm Harvey was approaching Roatán, and so the airport had been officially close due to weather conditions. Luckily, off-duty pilots were located, and a plane was chartered. But then a chain of events took place that held up the plane's departure.

The trouble began with Mr. O'Donnell's passport. Someone at the airport decided Mr. O'Donnell's injury might require that he be taken to Mexico -- which would require Mr. O'Donnell's passport, which was in West End. Mr. O'Donnell was forced to wait while someone went to retrieve his passport.

Next, the clerk at the bank -- where they were required to pay the departure tax -- refused payment for the tax, as there was no ticket to stamp, because (of course) the plane was being chartered. Finally, the aircraft was allowed to leave for San Pedro Sula.

At CEMESA hospital in San Pedro, an initial surgery was performed on Mr. O'Donnell to remove the largest part of the exploded bullet and stabilize him. A second, 10-hour-long surgery was performed on the afternoon of Monday, August 22, pushing the weekend’s hospital tab well into the five figure range (in US dollars).

During the course of all this, back on Roatán, Mr. Wesley's son, Quincy, had driven his father to the police station where he turned himself in, gave a statement, and then was allowed to leave the next morning to be placed under “house arrest” due to the fact that he was over 60 years of age.

Mr. Cleveland, 59, thinks that Mr. Wesley is 4-5 years younger than he, and therefore should not be eligible for release. Bail is not believed to have been required and Mr. Wesley's passport was not confiscated, and it is speculated that he may still have weapons in his house.

Mr. Wesley is being represented by attorney Alfred Hockersmith. Mr. Hockersmith is a former judge on the island.

For some perspective on this entire incident, it is worth noting that on Monday, June 28, Mr. O'Donnell had stepped onto the Wesley’s property for the first time to visit his friend Jason Brown at the dive shop Mr. Brown was renting from the Wesley family. Mrs. Wesley (Rosita) approached Mr. O'Donnell in a fit, apparently because Mr. O'Donnell had placed his bicycle against the bushes on the side of the street. She became more enraged when Mr. O'Donnell, who was making a telephone call, ignored her requests to move the bike. At about that moment Mr. Wesley came of his house and broke a 2x4 piece of lumber over Mr. O'Donnell. Being an ex-police officer, Mr. O'Donnell fought back and proceeded to get away. He left the premises while being chased down the street by the Wesleys swinging their machetes at him.

To trace the history of the Wesley’s violence and threats, one needs look no further than Trip Advisor, where one entry -- dated September 22, 2010 -- tells of Mrs. Wesley coming into the writers' cabin, cursing them, and threatening to hit them if they didn’t pay for a “fourth guest”. The review goes on to detail the filing of a police report against the hotel owners (the Wesleys) only to learn that the person at the police station assisting with the Spanish translation for the report had once had his life threatened by the Wesleys as well.

It is as easy to find ample evidence of the Wesley’s behavior. Rosalie Crimmin, the owner of Georphie’s Tropical Hideaway, tells of an incident about two years ago in which she was walking her dog down the street and suddenly found herself dodging a rock the size of a coconut. When she saw that it was Mrs. Wesley who had thrown the rock, she asked her why... only to have Mr. Wesley reply from an upstairs window... “never mind about her, worry about me!”.

Mrs. Crimmin filed a complaint to the authorities and won her case, but the situation was muddied when Mr. Wesley filed counter charge claiming Mrs. Crimmin's dog had caused Lps 60,000 worth of damage to his property. When the judge came out to do an inspection, Mr. Wesley attempted to keep Mrs. Crimmin from coming onto his property during the inspection, and even threatened to kill the dog in the judge’s presence. Nothing was done, although Mrs. Crimmin's daughter did end up being blacklisted from the Noodle Shack restaurant in retaliation for her mother's actions. She was next door attempting to buy noodles when Mrs. Wesley chased her across the street uttering profanities and threatening her if she ever returned.

The Crimmins point out that it is not uncommon to see police and members of La Fiscalía come and go from the Wesley’s hotel at odd hours with, what they presume to be, mistresses and prostitutes. This is a claim backed up by infamous local attorney Melvin Rosales, who said that it is well known that members of these groups get “special rates”.

Then there are the cases involving guns. During Easter weekend, shots were reportedly fired at Slippery Sue’s bar because the music was too loud for the Wesley’s. Former neighbor Noelle Gatti tells of being “threatened with a shotgun man times”, and there is a long well-known incident where shots were fired at Foster’s over a noise complaint. Laura Moulder has had a gun waved in her face at the Noodle Shack due to her husband's real-estate dealings with the Wesley family.

Additionally, Kevin Wesley -- Sam and Rosita Wesley's other son -- has been charged with assault and battery against Ed Moulder, a claim that Mr. Moulder backs up with scars on his leg where surgery was performed to bolt his leg back together. Kevin Wesley remains free, as the trial enters its second year.

The Wesley family was contacted several times by phone and e-mail to give their side of the story. At 9:16 pm on Monday, August 22, I received the following e-mail sent via Sam Wesley’s Blackberry (in it’s entirety, not corrected for spelling):

“So you what to get involved is that is go ahead and print you story we are looking forward to it. But let me tell you Boy, your friend was a troublemaker and let me tell you something looking forward to your story will read every inch of it. But my family has bind on this island since 1843 and has no plans of leaving be my guests. I heard about you and if you think I told the police some BS that is find feel that way.”

An advance copy of this article was sent to Sam Wesley for fact checking purposes, but no further reply was given. Mr. O'Donnell has begun physical therapy and now has some feeling returning to his right leg. Sam Wesley remains under house arrest waiting for his first hearing, which is scheduled for September 14. (8/24/11)

Note: This article was submitted by the author. Honduras Weekly cannot verify the accuracy of the accounts.