Patrick King will reappear before Madam Justice Barbara Cooke-Alleyne on Monday to answer contempt charges.

The Campaign Land, Martindales Road, St Michael resident appeared in the Supreme Court on Friday evening and had the charges read to him. It is alleged that he scandalised the court via various social media platforms.

Attorney-at-law Michael Lashley appeared amicus for the accused virtually.

The court granted King the opportunity to speak with a lawyer before pleading to the criminal charges.

The post Patrick King faces contempt charges appeared first on Barbados Today.

CJ calls for complaints against lawyers to be dealt with more speedily

By Jenique Belgrave

Chief Justice Sir Patterson Cheltenham is calling for an amendment to the Legal Profession Act to allow for swifter justice for clients whose funds have been misappropriated by their attorneys.

Admitting that this remained an area of “constant complaint and disappointment” both here and overseas, he said it is necessary to create a body that can address these legal matters more quickly than they are dealt with currently.

“The solution to this problem, in my view, is to replace the current system of discipline with a new body led by a legally trained chairman – a retired judge is one possibility – and comprising of members of the public and legal profession. It has to be properly funded and staffed in order to evaluate all complaints made with dispatch and fairness to all involved,” he said.

Sir Patterson said the current arrangement “does not respond with sufficient speed to the needs of complainants and attorneys at law”.

Stating that there were reports that a new Legal Profession Act was in draft, the Chief Justice said: “I see no reason why pending its arrival there cannot be an amendment to the current act that captures all the suggestions made.”

Warning new attorneys not to become part of this “deplorable chicanery”, he advised that they separate their personal and clients’ accounts. He stressed that at all times, they must hand over funds entrusted to them as directed.

Sir Patterson was speaking in Supreme Court No. 1 as 48 lawyers were admitted to the Bar.

The spokesperson for the new attorneys, Shakira Emtage called it a source of embarrassment for the group that while studying at the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago, all of the case law on the misappropriation of clients’ funds had come from Barbados.

She urged that within their respective practices “we must always keep separate accounts”.

Emtage also insisted that as lawyers, the focus would remain on ensuring that the wheels of justice turned, especially for those who often were left with feelings of frustration, rage and impotence when their voices were not being heard.

Addressing the attorneys, Acting Attorney General Wilfred Abrahams expressed “distress” over the low number of males entering the profession, as there were only eight in this latest group of lawyers.

He said this was having a direct impact on the number of criminal lawyers as, historically, these were often men. Abrahams encouraged more men to come forward.

“While there are many attorneys in Barbados – probably per capita we have the highest incidence of attorneys working – the fact is when it comes to a criminal matter, the same three, four or five names are heard. The same three, four or five names are made to appear next to each case,” he said, adding that if these individuals were unavailable, many cases within the criminal courts would have to be adjourned.

Abrahams urged the group to embrace continuous learning, noting that the profession today was vastly different from a decade ago.

He further urged them to remain humble.

“Do not expect to get rich quickly; that lands you in trouble. You and your attitude are going to determine exactly where you end up. There are many stories – we hear them every single year – of new attorneys who have just been called and they go out there with all of the attitude in the world, and instead of making friends, you make enemies…. How you treat others in this profession will determine how people treat you,” he added.

jeniquebelgrave@barbadostoday.bb

The post SWIFTER JUSTICE appeared first on Barbados Today.

The trial of a woman charged in connection with guns and ammunition found in a parcel collected from the General Post Office 11 years ago, began in Supreme Court No. 2 on Monday.

Maria Maleissa Moseley, of Villa Park, Brittons Hill, St Michael, is accused of having three firearms without a licence as well as 24 rounds of ammunition without a valid permit, on July 10, 2012.

Several witnesses gave evidence, including postal clerk Carol Oxley, who told the court that on the afternoon in question, the accused presented her with an express notice for the collection of a package and her identification card at the post office in Cheapside.

Oxley went into the vault to collect the package and checked to ensure that the express notice, the recipient’s name and address matched. She then took the package to Moseley and instructed her to open it as per the policy of the post office. The box contained toiletries, including Ajax, Bounty and Purex soap powder.

“I asked her to open the Purex soap powder but I could tell that she was having difficulty, so I opened it for her myself. What I saw was a white plastic protruding out of the soap powder box, so when I opened the white plastic, I found a gun. On further examination of the soap powder box, I found two more guns and ammunition,” she said.

After immediately informing the customs officer and her supervisor, the police were contacted, the postal clerk stated.

In his opening, Principal State Counsel Oliver Thomas, who is prosecuting along with State Counsel Dr Zoe King, told the nine-member jury that the state must prove that the accused woman had knowledge of the firearms and ammunition.

“The burden of proof is on the state,” he said while urging the jurors to listen closely to the facts before forming an opinion.

Moseley is represented by Senior Counsel Angela Mitchell-Gittens.

The trial continues on Tuesday.

The post 11-year-old gun and ammo trial begins appeared first on Barbados Today.

The following persons are asked to report to the Supreme Court 4A at the Henry Forde and David Simmons Legal and Judicial Complex, at Coleridge Street, St Michael, on Thursday, October 26, 2023, at 9 a.m.:

Lancelot Justin Patrick – Gills Road, St Michael

Oliver Chesterfield Fields – Edey Village, Christ Church

Rico Radarah Reneal Forde – Lower Estate, St George

Damien Kerron Jabbar Kellman – 146 Husbands Heights, St James

Vernon Sylvester Lyte – Balls Land, Christ Church

D’Angelo Amere Tyreke Ward – Block 2B Central Close Haynesville St James

Fabian Corey Jamal Brathwaite – Block 1A Hartland Road Haynesville St James

Kuanta Kabuka Tull – #34 Kensington Lodge, Passage Road, St Michael

Damien Francisco Padmore – #2 Skeete Road, Ivy, St Michael

Dave MacField Scott – Bush Hall St Michael

Larry Omar Ishmael – 1st Avenue Maxwell, Christ Church

Ishan Saquan Alleyne – Fordes Road, Brittons Hill, St Michael

Menelik Marcus Armstrong – Mount Hillaby St Thomas;

Tyrell Graham – Sargeants Village, Christ Church;

Adrian Norgrove – Silver Hill, Christ Church;

Ryan Bynoe – Wotton Terrace, Christ Church;

Adrian Marville – Hawkins Gap, Westbury Road, St Michael

Omara Nikole Alleyne- Stewart Hill, St John

The post Court Call appeared first on Barbados Today.

The virtual complainant in an unlawful wounding matter told a nine-member jury that Shurland Orlando Davis chopped her with a cutlass after she refused to have sex with him.

Davis, 53, is charged with wounding Althea Burke with intent to maim, disfigure or disable her or to cause serious bodily harm.

Giving evidence as the trial began on Tuesday afternoon in Supreme Court 3A, Burke recounted that Davis, who had been a childhood friend, began asking her to have sex with him via WhatsApp after she moved back into the Brereton Village, St Philip neighbourhood and offered to pay her for the act. She said he would also ask whenever they saw each other in the neighbourhood.

Burke testified that on April 16, 2020, after Davis sent her another message requesting sex, she told him to keep his money as she was not a prostitute and not interested.

“I would tell him he was being disrespectful, and I told him to stop,” she told the court. 

Asked by Davis if she would be coming outside that evening, she responded in the affirmative but did not give him a time.

She said that later that night, as she made her way to her aunt’s house nearby, Davis approached her with $400 in his hand, placed it in her pants pocket and again asked for sex while grabbing at her. She recalled pushing him away and running back inside the house, where she told her uncle what had happened. She then called a police officer that she knew to discuss the situation.

The complainant stated that a few days later, on April 21, she was sitting on her aunt’s patio with two other people, unbraiding her hair, when Davis appeared at the entrance and spoke of her disrespecting him before pulling out a cutlass from behind his back.

“I saw him look at my feet, my chest and my neck, and I asked him if he was going to chop me, and in my head, I was telling myself, ‘either you sit here and you die, or you lose something’. So I took my left hand and put it up,” she recalled.

Burke said after being struck with the cutlass, she ran inside the house, wrapped her hand in a sheet and was taken to the hospital.

Asked by Principal State Counsel Rudolph Burnett what injuries she sustained, Burke said tendons and nerves in her hand were damaged,  requiring several surgeries and pins to keep her thumb attached.

“I cannot hold or grip anything in my hand,” she told the court.

Questioned about what had happened with the $400 Davis placed in her pocket, Burke said she had thrown the money back at Davis on the same night before running back home.

Burnett is prosecuting the case along with State Counsel Anastacia McMeo-Boyce while Davis is self-represented. Justice Anthony Blackman is presiding.

The trial is expected to continue on Wednesday.

The post Woman says she was attacked after refusing sex appeared first on Barbados Today.

Two young men are scheduled to appear in the Holetown Magistrate’s Court today in connection with the fatal shooting at Thunder Bay Beach, Lower Carlton, St James earlier this month.
Malik Shabazz Bacchus, 20, of Chapel Gap, Lower Carlton, St James and Rashay Jermaine Anthony Cadogan, 20 of #78 Carlow Path, Waterford, St Michael have been charged with the October 11 murder of 27-year-old Darrian Robinson of Lower Carlton, St James.
The two have also been charged with the use of a firearm on the same date.

The post Murder accused to appear in court appeared first on Barbados Today.

Witness tells court customs broker seemed anxious before drug discovery

State witness Heather Scotland-Jones recalled that customs broker Corrie Brathwaite appeared “anxious” and “nervous” as he went to collect a shipping container, which was later discovered to contain hundreds of pounds of cannabis 11 years ago.

Brathwaite 44, of Dash Valley, St George and Dwight Anderson Michael Clarke, 45, of Mangrove, St Philip, are charged with the importation, possession and trafficking of 664 pounds of the controlled drug on September 3, 2012.

Taking the witness stand in Supreme Court No. 4 on Thursday, Scotland-Jones said that her son, who resides in Canada, had informed her weeks before the incident that he was sending her furniture via a shipping container and that Brathwaite, a customs broker, was in charge of it.

She contacted Brathwaite and he told her that once the container arrived, September 3, 2012 would be the scheduled opening date. Scotland-Jones called him again, a week after that initial conversation, and he told her he was going on a business trip and his partner Dwight Clarke would be in charge of looking after the container.

Weeks went by without her hearing from the customs broker, and she reached out to him again when he informed her that “enforcement” had an interest in items from the container.

“I had not heard anything for a while, and I called him back again and asked him ‘What was going on?’ and that ‘Ever since you were telling me that the furniture would be coming to my home; I have not seen furniture or container, nor have I heard anything about them’. He then said, ‘Do not worry about nothing’ and that he was in charge and when the container is opened, he will take the items to his warehouse, put them on a truck and send them to me,” she said.

Scotland-Jones testified that Brathwaite contacted her one morning, telling her to head to the Bridgetown Port to fill out documents to release the container. She questioned this, as she had no information about the container. However, Brathwaite told her to meet him there.

Scotland-Jones headed to the port and was informed by a worker that she could not fill out any paperwork and that Brathwaite would have to come, and to call him. She did so, and he showed up a few minutes later and filled out the documents.

Scotland-Jones then got into his vehicle and they headed towards the container.

“While we were going, I saw Mr Brathwaite looking suspiciously nervous and anxious about something. I was sitting in the front seat next to him, and he started to talk to himself….He mentioned about seeing a police van. When we got close to the container, I saw a whole heap of vehicles come surrounding Mr Brathwaite’s vehicle, and they said to get out,” she told the court.

Scotland-Jones said one of the officers spoke to Brathwaite and took him over to the container. She followed and stood next to it and observed the customs broker attempting to use his phone, and an officer, after warning him, took the phone away.

The witness told the nine-member jury and Madam Justice Laurie-Ann Smith-Bovell that when the lock was broken and the container was opened, “a weird smell” came from it, and she saw duffel bags and a suitcase right at the front of the container. Asked by an officer whether she knew what the packages were, she responded in the negative. She said Brathwaite was asked the same question but she told the court she could not recall his answer.

Scotland-Jones said an officer cut open one package and saw the cannabis inside.

She was later taken to the Oistins Police Station to give a statement.

Asked by Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Alliston Seale SC whether she had arranged with her son to ship marijuana into the country, Scotland-Jones replied: “No, Sir”.

She testified that she was never arrested in the matter.

During the cross-examination by Ralph Thorne SC, who is representing the accused men in association with attorney-at-law Emerald Griffith, Scotland-Jones said after giving her initial statement on the day of the incident, she was called back to review it but could not recall when it had happened or the name of the officer that took the statements.

The trial was adjourned until November 1, 2023.

The post ‘Nervous’ appeared first on Barbados Today.

Two witnesses in the Westbury Cemetery firearm trial testified that while a gun was dropped during a burial, they could not tell exactly where it had come from.

Zara Massiah, a Second Lieutenant with the Barbados Defence Force (BDF), attached to the Cadet Corps at the time of the incident, said she was at the graveside, having been assigned to the mother of the deceased who was a former cadet.

Taking the stand as the firearm possession trial of Akmal Teril Haynes of Spruce Street and Alana Nikita Crystal Nearvay of Ashby Alley, Nelson Street continued in Supreme Court No. 3, she told the jury that she was six feet away from the graveside when she saw a dark-coloured object fall to the ground, which she recognised as a firearm.

Principal State Counsel Neville Watson asked whether she saw where it fell from, and she responded, “No, Sir”, but noted that the firearm was in an area where a young woman with a bag was putting mud on the grave.

The witness admitted that other people were around the woman.

Massiah said the gun was pointed out to BDF Chief Petty Officer Ryan Selby, who took up the firearm and attempted to make the area safe.

She said a scuffle then ensued between Selby and a group of people.

Representing Haynes, attorney Sian Lange asked the witness if she had an opportunity to touch the gun.

“No,” Massiah said.

“You have no way of telling if it was an imitation firearm?” Lange further questioned.

“No, Sir,” the witness stated.

During her cross-examination, Latisha Springer, who is representing accused Nearvay along with Krystal Fenty, asked Massiah why she had not given anyone a description of the woman at the graveside.

Massiah responded that she had not been asked to.

Station Sergeant Sinclair Phillips, who was attached to the Criminal Investigations Unit in 2012 and was the lead investigator in the case, was shown video of the incident and pointed out the accused in the recording.

Asked about the firearm on the burial site, he told the court he was not sure how it got on the ground or where it had fallen from.

Testifying about the scuffle, the police officer said accused Haynes appeared to pull back Selby after two other men pulled the firearm away from the BDF officer.

Under cross-examination by Lange, Phillips admitted that he could not tell whose hand was on Selby, but believed that due to its complexion, it was Haynes’.

“Are you an expert on complexions?” the lawyer asked.

“No,” the witness responded.

The state is expected to close its case next Monday.

The post Gun dropped at graveside, witnesses testify appeared first on Barbados Today.

A 32-year-old unemployed man who led police on a high-speed car chase on the outskirts of Bridgetown in the wee hours of Thursday morning has been hit with more than $5 000 in fines.

Lemar Alexander Burnett, of Brewster’s Gap, St Michael, pleaded guilty to committing seven traffic offences on October 26, 2023, when he appeared before Magistrate Alison Burke in the District ‘A’ Traffic Court on Friday.

These include dangerous driving, driving without due care and attention, driving without reasonable consideration, and failing to stop at the sound of the siren, comply with a ‘Stop’ sign, use appropriate hand signals and comply with a ‘No Entry’ sign.

According to the police report, just after midnight, officers on duty were forced to slam brakes while entering the Ena Walters Roundabout as a dark-coloured Toyota Axio “flew” from Lower Collymore Rock, St Michael through the roundabout at a rapid speed. Making a left turn onto Wellington Street, the vehicle slowed down, but when the officers turned on the siren and beacon, it sped up again and the driver refused to stop.

Police pursued the vehicle through Nelson Street, Chancery Lane, Spruce Street, Beckwith Street, Bay Street, Jemmotts Lane, Henry Lane and finally Dunlow Lane where the chase ended. The driver and two occupants escaped.

However, Burnett presented himself to the police later that morning and admitted to being the driver.

Asked by the magistrate why he had not stopped initially when the siren and lights were activated, Burnett said, “I was scared about the situation, but I did not mean anything by it.”

“Why did you speed off like that, going through stop signs and no entry signs? Suppose an old granny was trying to cross the road? You could have been in here with a bigger charge – causing death by dangerous driving,” Burke chastised.

Burnett was fined $1 000 forthwith for failing to stop at the sound of a siren, with the alternative of 100 days in jail.

He also has to pay $2 000 for dangerous driving, $1 000 for driving without due care and attention, $500 for failing to comply with a ‘Stop’ sign, and $800 for failing to use appropriate hand signals.

The charge of driving without reasonable consideration was withdrawn, and he was convicted, reprimanded and discharged for driving through a ‘No Entry’ sign.

The fines must be paid by October 26, 2024, or Burnett will spend one year in prison.

The post Man to pay $5 000 after leading police on high-speed chase in The City appeared first on Barbados Today.

Businessman Obrian Sylvester Ince, of Grandview Heights, Shop Hill, St Thomas, has been accused of stealing $43 000.

The 58-year-old appeared in the District ‘A’ Traffic Court on Friday charged with stealing $35 000, the proceeds of a Republic Bank (B’dos) Limited cheque payable to Leroy Hall and drawn on the account of Barbados Public Workers Cooperative Credit Union Limited; and $8 000 in cash, belonging to Clarence Burrows.

Ince was not required to plead to the indictable offence and was placed on $20 000 bail with one surety.

The accused, who is represented by attorney-at-law Vincent Watson, has to report to the District ‘D’ Police Station every Tuesday before 10 a.m.

The matter was adjourned until March 1, 2024.

The post Businessman charged with theft appeared first on Barbados Today.

A pre-sentencing report has been ordered for an 18-year-old teen who verbally threatened his pregnant sister.

Ramar Ryan Spratt-Crichlow of Bibby’s Lane, St Michael, appeared in the District ‘A’ Traffic Court on Monday charged with using threatening words: “I will kill you and cut your child out of your belly and make you bleed like a pig” towards Lateisha Whitney, causing her to believe that immediate and unlawful violence would be used towards her on October 28, 2023.

The court was informed that on that day, a conversation between Whitney and their mother turned into an argument. Spratt-Crichlow got involved in the dispute and the mother called her other son to quell the argument. The accused then armed himself with a knife and threatened his sister.

Moments after pleading guilty to the offence, Spratt-Crichlow offered his apologies before asking Magistrate Alison Burke for assistance in getting into the Barbados Youth Service.

“I am sorry for using those words. It was just in the heat of the moment that I said them, and I didn’t mean nothing by those words, and I am sorry. I would like you to help me get in Youth Service or something so I could better my life,” he said.

Magistrate Burke placed him on $2 ,000 bail and told him to stay away from the complainant.

The matter has been adjourned until March 6, 2024.

The post Teen threatens to kill pregnant sister  appeared first on Barbados Today.

As Barbados Defence Force (BDF) Chief Petty Officer Ryan Selby attempted to secure a Glock that dropped on a grave during a funeral in Westbury Cemetery on April 20, 2015, he was pushed and eventually lost his grip on the weapon.

This was part of the evidence read from his April 21, 2015 and May 20, 2015 statements of the incident as the gun trial of Akmal Teril Haynes of Spruce Street and Alana Nikita Crystal Nearvay of Ashby Alley, Nelson Street continued before a nine-member jury on Monday in Supreme Court No. 3. Haynes is also charged with assaulting Selby.

The statements of the former BDF personnel staff instructor were entered into evidence as Selby, who retired from the BDF in 2016, was deemed unable to testify by a medical doctor. His daughter Amanda Best appeared before the court with a letter from a medical professional explaining that the former soldier has since been diagnosed with dementia.

Before Selby’s statements were read, attorney for Haynes, Sian Lange asked Best if she had recognised any signs of early dementia in her father before 2016. She responded that she had.

In his re-examination, Principal State Counsel Neville Watson asked, “Up until his retirement, how was his mental condition?”

“Up until his retirement, I would say that it was pretty good. I didn’t see any signs up until when he retired,” she stated.

In his first account, Selby, who was on duty at the funeral of a former cadet on the day of the incident, said he was at the foot of the grave when Cadet Officer Lieutenant Stewart called to him and pointed to the ground, asking, “Is that a real gun?” He saw what appeared to be a Glock pistol and, upon closer inspection, said, “it was indeed a pistol”.

Selby said he picked up the firearm and sought to move it to a safe area.

“I proceeded to inspect the weapon with intentions to remove the magazine. At the same time, Cadet Officer Lieutenant Stewart came over to me. I stood up with the weapon held in my right hand with the nozzle pointing towards the ground, and while speaking to Cadet Officer Lieutenant Stewart, I felt a sudden push from behind, and at the same time, someone tugged my right hand. I made an effort to hold onto the weapon tighter, but at the same time, I felt a second push on my right side, and I lost control of the weapon and felt it leave my hand,” the statement read.

Selby did not see the person who “bounced” him or who took the gun from him.

He also identified the weapon, saying, “It was a black automatic Glock pistol. I recognise this weapon since I am trained in weapon handling, and my personal weapon while on duty is a Glock pistol.”

In his second statement, Selby went into further detail, describing that due to its weight, he knew the weapon was loaded, while admitting he had not taken note of the Glock’s model.

He tried to release the magazine, but it was stuck and seeing that the gun could not be made safe in that area, he started to move it to

a safe area but did not ask for any cadet officers to accompany him as he had not expected anything to happen.

Station Sergeant Ryan Eversley, who had been the lead investigator in the case, also gave evidence.

The trial is expected to continue on Tuesday.

The post Gravesite gun find trial continues appeared first on Barbados Today.

Minibus driver Robert Parris has until the end of next month to pay $1 300 in fines for two traffic offences.

Appearing before Magistrate Alison Burke in the District ‘A’ Traffic Court on Monday, the resident of Upper Crescent, Gall Hill, Christ Church pleaded guilty to stopping elsewhere than a bus stop for the purpose of picking up passengers, while on Tudor Street on January 19, 2023, and to being off route 12 days later, on Cheapside Road.

Seeking to give an explanation for the first offence, he said that as there were several other vans parked by the bus stop, he had pulled in front of the line to let passengers disembark.

“Some passengers had to get back inside the van cause I did not complete the route, so when the officer saw people getting back into the van, he told me I was picking up people other than at a bus stop,” he said.

Burke responded: “If the bus stop was full of vans, why couldn’t you just simply wait until one or two moved off and then proceed?… That is the problem: everybody is doing as they like. Nobody can wait. It is a problem.”

The magistrate imposed a $500 fine for that offence and $800 for the other, with an alternative of 40 days imprisonment.

The fines are to be paid by November 29, 2023.

The post PSV driver fined $1 300 appeared first on Barbados Today.

When Maria Maleissa Moseley went to the Cheapside General Post Office on July 12, 2012, it was to collect a package containing canned meats, not firearms.

That was part of the statement the Villa Park, Brittons Hill, St Michael resident read from the dock in Supreme Court No. 2 on Tuesday, as her trial continued before Justice Randall Worrell and a nine-member jury.

Moseley is accused of having three firearms without a licence as well as 24 rounds of ammunition without a valid permit.

She outlined in a statement that after a cousin indicated he planned to open a shop, he told her he was sending home some Spam and household items and wanted to send a barrel in her name. She subsequently received a slip from the post office about the package and contacted her cousin who said he was sending a taxi to take her to collect it.

When the taxi arrived, Moseley said, her cousin was in the vehicle and she told him if he was coming he could have collected the package himself. She got into the taxi with her children and went to the post office. The cousin and children waited in the vehicle while she went inside.

Moseley said when the package was opened, the clerk took out “a metal thing out of the flour” and said it was a gun.

“I couldn’t move. I was in shock,” she recalled, saying that a gentleman came and she asked for a phone call. She refused to sign the paper he instructed her to. The accused testified that she gave the police her cousin’s name and informed them that he and her children were waiting outside, but when the officer went to check, he did not see any of her family members.

Moseley said she and her cousin were close before the incident and she could not believe he would do something like that.

She said her cousin did not call her while she was in prison and, in fact, they had not spoken in the 11 years since she was charged.

“I say if he could do something like that, he could do anything,” Moseley stated.

The trial continues on Wednesday.

The post Accused expected food items, not guns when she collected package appeared first on Barbados Today.

A man who chopped another several times about his head and left hand a year after a dispute over a weed wacker sale, has to pay a total of $10 000 in compensation over the next nine months or face two years in prison.

The sentence was handed down by Madam Justice Wanda Blair on Shem Yearwood, 32, of 1st Avenue Harmony Hall, St Michael when he appeared in Supreme Court No. 4A on Tuesday morning.

Yearwood had been charged with the unlawful wounding of Vincent Smith on June 12, 2013, with intent to maim, disfigure, or disable him, as well as unlawfully and maliciously wounding Vincent Smith. He pleaded guilty to the second charge.

In his statement, Smith outlined that a year prior to the incident, he had sold Yearwood a weed wacker for $400. Yearwood paid him $350 at the time of the sale. At their next meeting, Yearwood told him the equipment was not working and attacked him with a sword. Smith, who had been riding his bicycle at the time, threw it at Yearwood, causing him to sustain an injury to his head.

A year after this altercation, Smith was walking through the now-convicted man’s neighbourhood and Yearwood, who was in his car next to his home, told him, “he ain’t forget me”.

Several of Yearwood’s relatives were in the verandah, including his mother and his child. Yearwood approached him with a sword and his mother shouted and asked him what he was doing and if he wanted to get into trouble. She took away the sword and Yearwood went into the house. Smith said he stood there talking to the mother about the money he was owed when Yearwood came back out with another sword. Smith recalled being struck to the left side of his head initially before being chopped two or three more times. He said he tried holding onto the sword, but it was too slippery to grasp. He was also struck twice on his left hand.

Outlining the aggravating factors of the offence, Justice Blair pointed to the nature of the attack; that the virtual complainant was unarmed; the seriousness of the injuries, including the fracture to Smith’s head and his physical health; that Yearwood was disarmed by his mother and went for another cutlass; and that the attack was done in the presence of two young family members. No mitigating factors were identified.

Regarding the offender, she said his early guilty plea and the statements made by character witnesses were mitigating factors, while his low to medium risk of reoffending was viewed as aggravating.

The judge ordered the convicted man to pay $1 000 of the $10 000 in compensation forthwith. His alternative sentence was 16 months imprisonment, suspended for two years.

The case was prosecuted by Senior State Counsel Joyann Catwell, while Yearwood was self-represented.

The post $10 000 in compensation for chopping victim appeared first on Barbados Today.

A 28-year-old St Michael man appeared in the District ‘A’ Traffic Court on Tuesday on firearm, ammunition and drug charges.

Rico Carlos Bovell of Niles Road, Waterhall Land, Eagle Hall, is accused of possession of a .32 Smith and Wesson revolver and six rounds of ammunition on October 19, 2023. He was not required to plead to the indictable charges.

Bovell pleaded not guilty to possession of cannabis on that same date and was remanded into custody until November 28, 2023.

Also remanded and due to reappear in that court on that date is David Lynch of Rogers Road, Ivy, St Michael, who was not required to plea to two charges when he appeared before Magistrate Alison Burke.

The 29-year-old is accused of unlawfully wounding Evan Jordan on October 12, 2023, with intent to maim, disfigure, or disable him. He is also alleged to have used a firearm to commit the indictable offence.

The post Bovell remanded on gun, ammo, drug charges appeared first on Barbados Today.

A labourer who struck his foreman in the face with a shovel has been ordered to pay $20 000 in compensation, half of which he had to fork out immediately.

The sentence was imposed on Errol Demond Jacobs of 2nd Avenue Arthur Land, Tweedside Road, St Michael, by Madam Justice Pamela Beckles in Supreme Court No. 5 on Wednesday.

He had previously pleaded guilty to unlawfully and maliciously inflicting serious bodily harm on Rory Marshall more than ten years ago.

“After careful and thorough analysis of the matter at hand, this court finds that you, Errol Demond Jacobs on the 11th of February 2013, committed this senseless, unwarranted, cowardly act on the complainant, your foreman, who was only doing his job by ensuring that the scaffolding was erected correctly for the safety of all,” the judge told Jacobs.

The court heard that Jacobs and Marshall had known each other for about two years before the incident. On the mentioned date, the two were on a job site in Society, St John to build a chicken pen when they had a difference of opinion over how to erect the scaffolding needed for the job. The foreman was concerned that Jacobs was about to set it up incorrectly and tried to explain to him that it was unsafe.

Later, as Marshall was resting on the structure, Jacobs walked up behind him with a shovel. Another worker on the job site saw what was happening and shouted, “Look out!”

Marshall felt a blow to his face as he was turning around. He did not see who or what hit him, but that information was eventually relayed to him.

As a result of the impact, the complainant received multiple facial fractures and injuries to his right eye and had to have two surgical procedures. The medical report outlined that moderate to severe force was used to inflict the injuries.

Outlining the aggravating factors of the offence, the judge noted the nature and gravity of the crime, the use of a weapon, the prevalence of such offences in society, the degree of force used to inflict the injuries, that the complainant was known to the accused, and the effect the injuries have had and continue to have on the complainant’s life as his face is disfigured and his sight is impaired.

No mitigating factors were found, and the judge gave a starting point of seven years in prison.

Speaking on the offender, Justice Beckles said the mitigating factors were his early guilty plea, expression of remorse, full cooperation with police investigations, previously clean criminal record, favourable pre-sentence report, and the delay in having the 10-year-old matter adjudicated. She found no personal aggravating factors.

The starting point was therefore adjusted down by two years, leaving a five-year sentence.

Previously, in his submissions on what sentence Jacobs should receive for his actions, State Counsel Paul Prescod told Madam Justice Beckles that the offence had crossed the threshold for a custodial sentence. He noted that Marshall also wanted compensation because of how the incident had impacted him, and submitted that Jacobs should pay Marshall compensation between $25 000 and $30 000, with an alternative prison sentence if not paid.

Jacobs’ attorney Mohia Ma’at, however, suggested payment in the region of $7 500.

In his impact statement, Marshall noted the over 100 days he had spent on sick leave and asked for $20 000, though saying that would not even compensate for his disfigurement, pain and suffering.

Justice Beckles agreed to substitute Jacobs’ sentence with a compensation order for Marshall’s requested amount, ordering that half be paid forthwith, with the remainder due in 12 months.

His alternative sentence was three years and 115 days behind bars, after the one-third discount for the guilty plea, and the deduction of time on remand.

The post Shovel attack costs labourer thousands of dollars appeared first on Barbados Today.

Two St Michael residents accused of having a gun at Westbury Cemetery back in 2015 were cleared on Tuesday evening.

Akmal Teril Haynes of Spruce Street and Alana Nikita Crystal Nearvay of Ashby Alley, Nelson Street were found not guilty by a nine-member jury in Supreme Court No. 3 of possession of the gun while at the funeral of a former cadet on April 20, 2015.

The jury voted eight to one.

Justice Carlisle Greaves presided over the matter.

The post Duo accused of gravesite gun find, not guilty appeared first on Barbados Today.

Four people accused of causing a disturbance at the Constitution River Terminal on Monday are set to appear in court today to answer charges.

They are 29-year-old Napthali Nathanial Ray Greenidge of Berry Hill, Merricks, St Philip; 26-year-old Lakicia Alicia Archer of Ashbury Land, St George; 58-year-old Ronald Gilbert Lavine of 3rd Avenue Greaves Land, Black Rock, St  Michael; and 27-year-old Jarad Andre Brathwaite of Brereton Village, St Philip.

Greenidge is additionally charged with assaulting Ronald Lavine, causing him actual bodily harm.

The accused are expected to appear before the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court.

The post Four charged with causing disturbance in bus terminal appeared first on Barbados Today.

Two of the four people arrested and charged for fighting in the Constitution River Terminal earlier this week pleaded guilty when they appeared in the District ‘A’ Traffic Court before Magistrate Alison Burke on Thursday.

Jarad Andre Brathwaite, 27, of Brereton Village, St Philip and Lakicia Alicia Archer, 26, of Ashbury Land, St George, admitted to causing a disturbance in the van stand on October 30, 2023.

A video of the incident has since gone viral on social media.

Brathwaite, who has two previous convictions, was placed on a bond to keep the peace for six months. If he breaches the bond, he will have to pay $1 000 immediately or face three months in Dodds prison.

Archer was reprimanded and discharged.

Attorney Kelly-Ann Blackman represented the two.

Meanwhile, 58-year-old Ronald Gilbert Lavine of 3rd Avenue Greaves Land, Black Rock, St Michael and 29-year-old Napthali Nathaniel Ray Greenidge of Berry Hill, Merricks, St Philip, pleaded not guilty to the offence and were each granted $2 000 bail.

Greenidge also denied assaulting Lavine, occasioning him actual bodily harm, and was granted $4 000 bail on that charge.

Lavine and Greenidge return to court on March 20, 2024.

The post Two plead guilty to causing disturbance in van stand appeared first on Barbados Today.