A St Joseph man who struck another several times about the head with glass bottles during an argument has been ordered to pay $8 000 in compensation.

Passing sentence on 42-year-old Jason Orlando Parris, of Bissex Housing Area, Parks Road, in Supreme Court 4A on Wednesday, Madam Justice Wanda Blair informed him that he had 16 months to make the payment or he would face 29 months in prison.

Earlier this year, Parris denied the charge of wounding Marcus Yearwood with intent on June 10, 2021, but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful and malicious wounding.

In his statement, Yearwood said he had been sitting outside a shop drinking with his friends when Parris arrived and started making statements to him, before putting his hand in his face. A fight began between the two and Parris struck Yearwood in the head with a beer bottle several times before it broke. The two men fell onto empty drink cases and Parris continued hitting Yearwood with more bottles.

Justice Blair called Parris’ actions “unjustified” and said they “speak to lawlessness that is becoming too commonplace in this society”.

Outlining the aggravating factors of the crime, she identified the nature of the attack, the number of injuries Yearwood had, the inability of the complainant to work for a year and that the act was committed in the presence of the public. No mitigating factors were found.

As to the offender, the aggravating factors were that he was assessed as having a moderate to high risk of reoffending and also had four previous convictions. His early guilty plea was a mitigating factor.

A four-year starting point given by Justice Blair was reduced by 16 months due to the early plea and then by an additional three months because of the delay in the matter getting to the court, leaving the convicted man with 29 months in prison. However, that was suspended for two years, with the judge warning Parris that he would have to serve the time if he found himself before the law courts during that period.

Senior State Counsel Joyann Catwell prosecuted the case while Parris was represented by attorney-at-law Martie Garnes.

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Jeviere Aaron James has been ordered to stay away from his former supervisor after beating him with a mop stick for owed wages.

The 20-year-old from Rock Dundo, St James pleaded guilty to assaulting Fabian Pile on November 1, 2023, occasioning actual bodily harm, when he made an appearance before Magistrate Alison Burke in the District ‘A’ Traffic Court.

The court prosecutor outlined that James had been employed at a school canteen managed by Pile and on the mentioned date, he showed up and began accosting the supervisor about monies owed. James took up a mop stick and hit the complainant with it several times. Another man accompanying James also hit him. Canteen workers then locked Pile in the kitchen, and James and the other man left.

The matter was reported to the police and James turned himself in and admitted to the offence. The first-time offender told the police that the complainant owed him $1 140 and had been giving him the run-around for three weeks. He said Pile turned aggressive towards him, which caused him to feel embarrassed and “to react without thinking”.

Magistrate Burke granted James $3 000 bail. He returns to court on March 20, 2024, when a pre-sentence report is expected to be ready.

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Outspoken High Court Justice Carlisle Greaves heavily criticised the State for its leading role in the 16-year delay of a firearm matter being brought to trial, before staying the matter on the grounds that “it would be an abuse of process to proceed with a trial at this time”.

“In the circumstances, I decree that a stay should be granted by this court and that this matter should not be proceeded without leave of this court in the future. The indictment is stayed on the basis of abuse of process,” he declared as Damian Ramon Renaldo Harewood of Bush Hall, Yard Gap, St Michael appeared before him in Supreme Court No. 3 charged with having a firearm and 11 rounds of ammunition on August 16, 2007.

“Sixteen years and no reason has been given absolutely why this matter could have been delayed so long,” the judge said.

Pointing out that the accused had been committed to stand trial in 2009 by former Chief Magistrate Clyde Nicholls, who has long since retired, a disturbed Greaves highlighted the 10-year delay between the 2010 indictment and the 2020 arraignment.

“It took another ten years before that indictment was brought to the court for that. The defendant could not have been in any way responsible for that,” he said while pointing fingers at the State for the situation.

Harewood, who is represented by Senior Counsel Arthur Holder, filed a constitutional motion in 2022 and while an order had been made for the State to make a case for its defence since January, it had not.

Justice Greaves therefore questioned “how long was too long” for the State to give an accused a hearing.

“Is this criminal court to participate in this abuse of process by shying away from its duty to make a ruling as to whether he should go to trial, to pass the buck, so to speak, to another court?” he said.

The judge noted that Holder had brought an application to the court to consider the issue of the abuse of process if the defendant was now put to trial.

“The prosecution submits, even with some sympathy, the predicament the defendant finds himself in and that this court should leave the question to the constitutional court, since the application is already before that court, on the basis as to whether the defendant would be denied a fair trial at this point due to the delay,” Justice Greaves stated.

Calling the dismissal of an indictment “the most draconian action a court may take”, he said when other remedies are available, the court would be “reluctant to stay an indictment permanently”.

Such a remedy, he said, would include an adjustment to the sentence. However, he outlined the difficulties with that action, noting that if Harewood went to trial and was convicted, he would be subject to a prison sentence of eight to 10 years. The judge said after the mitigating and aggravating factors were considered, a substantial deduction would have to be made due to the delay, at three months per year, as well as other aspects.

“He would not be subject to no years. He would go home today if the trial was today,” the judge contended. “So on what basis are we to put the taxpayers at this time to delay further and have an expensive trial? I see none.”

Justice Greaves also said the delay and mitigating factors would also significantly reduce any default period for failing to pay a fine if one was imposed.

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Renaldo Antonio Husbands’ gun and ammunition trial continued in Supreme Court No. 5 on Tuesday with several police officers giving evidence.

Sergeant Halton Springer read from the accused’s statement, made on October 10, 2013, and his subsequent interviews.

According to the statement, Husbands went with another man – identified in the statement as X – to an abandoned house in his Farm Garden, St Philip neighbourhood where he knew men had stashed a nickel and black .380 gun. He picked it up and put it in his pocket before he and the other man headed to Six Roads in the same parish.

Husbands gave the gun to X who put it in a haversack before they caught a bus and headed to the Ivy, St Michael. When they arrived, Husbands took back the gun from X and put it in his pocket before going by his mother to collect clothing. After they left there, they went by a man in the Ivy, called Bertie, telling him, “We come for the thing”. X was then handed a white plastic bag. The accused asked him to check “if that was the gun he come for” before X put it in his bag and they left.

While they were at the bus stop, X told Husbands to give him back the gun he previously took and he placed it in the bag with the other firearm he had collected from Bertie. Moments later, two police vans pulled up and held the two men before searching the bags and finding the weapons.

When showed the black and silver .380 firearm and the magazine during one of his interviews with police, Husbands said: “That is the .380 device and the clip I was walking about in the Ivy with that morning.”

Husbands also told the police that he spoke to a lawyer his mother had sent and that they could question him. He took police to an area in the Ivy and said, “That is where I take the gun from X and I gave it back to him right there later.”

Objecting to all the oral statements attributed to him in the police reports, during cross-examination, Husbands put it to the police officer that he had been beaten and forced to confess to having two firearms and ammunition.

“Did you beat the accused?” Husbands, who is representing himself, asked the police witness.

Springer denied this.

“Did you wrap the accused with plastic wrap? Did you put a bag on my head?”

Springer again replied in the negative.

Husbands also asked what the police were looking for when they pulled up at the bus stop.

Springer said a report had been made that two men were walking around the Ivy with guns and Husbands and X fit the descriptions given.

He asked whether there was anyone else at the bus stop and the police said a woman was also there.

Principal State Counsel Olivia Davis later closed the State’s case.

Husbands is accused of possession of a .38 revolver and a .380 pistol without a valid licence on October 9, 2013.

He is also charged with having 13 rounds of ammunition without a valid permit on that same date, but that number was reduced to seven after evidence was presented by firearms and explosives expert Station Sergeant Roger Bullard that he received only seven bullets on October 12, 2013, for examination in relation to the matter.

The trial continues on Wednesday.

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A teenager whose father held her hand on a hot stove burner five years ago as punishment for stealing said on Wednesday that she was unable to use the hand for a few weeks after the incident and had to have two surgeries.

However, the now 17-year-old told the court that she did not want him locked up for his crime as she wanted to build a relationship with him.

She gave a victim impact statement before Madam Justice Laurie-Ann Smith-Bovell in the No. 4 Supreme Court, as the case against Anecitus Albert of St Paul’s Avenue, Bayville, St Michael continued.

The father had pleaded guilty to unlawfully and maliciously inflicting serious bodily harm on the then 12-year-old girl on July 17, 2018.

The teen, pointing to a small scar on her left hand, told the judge of the pain she experienced and that she had to undergo surgery. However, when asked, she said that she did not want her father to go to prison as she wanted the opportunity to build a relationship with him.

Her mother also addressed the court. She explained that she did not know the extent of the injury initially as Albert, who had custody of their children at the time, told her “a little oil” had burned the girl’s hand when she was frying something.

The mother said that a few days later, she saw her daughter and realised that she was unable to open her hand, which was swollen. She questioned the child who then told her what had transpired.

She was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and she was admitted. She had two surgeries and a skin graft. The mother was informed by a health official that the matter should be reported to the police as it was a case of child abuse, and she followed that advice.

Asked by the judge what would be considered adequate compensation if such an order was granted, the mother stated $10 000.

In submissions on sentencing, defence attorney Steve Gollop stated there were several mitigating factors to be considered, including that the now-convicted man had expressed remorse, that the act was out of character for him and not a case of wanton abuse, his early guilty plea and the fact that he had no previous convictions.

He asked that there be no custodial sentence, that the virtual complainant be compensated between $5 000 to $6 000, and that the family undergo counselling.

In his submission, State Counsel Kevin Forde said the offence should result in an immediate custodial sentence. However, pointing to the complainant’s desire for her father not to be imprisoned, he agreed that a compensation order was justifiable.

Forde submitted that $12 000 compensation, with half the amount paid forthwith, was suitable in the circumstances.

Asking his daughter for forgiveness, Albert said he wished he could undo the pain caused by his actions, and said he was willing to do what was necessary for reconciliation.

“Mr Albert, I really hope that you acknowledge the error of your ways. Discipline does not involve abuse, and what you did was abuse. They say time heals all wounds, but if this case was closer to the event, chances are you would be looking at a prison sentence,” Justice Smith-Bovell said.

She adjourned the case until January 26, 2024, when Albert will be sentenced.

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A 28-year-old City resident has been remanded to Dodds on gun and assault charges.

Shaquel Rasmaid Walcott, of Oxley Street, St Michael, is alleged to have unlawfully assaulted Liam Lord on November 4, 2023, as well as recklessly using an imitation firearm without lawful authority or excuse and in a manner that caused the virtual complainant to believe that he was in danger of death or serious bodily harm.

The accused appeared before Chief Magistrate Ian Weekes in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday but could not plead to the indictable charges.

He will make his next court appearance on December 6, 2023.

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Two men who were involved in trafficking 177 kilogrammes of cannabis into the island 12 years ago have been slapped with hefty fines.

Julian Anthony Wilson of 7th Avenue New Orleans, St Michael and Conan Ashby of Bournes Village, St George, have to pay $25 000 and $20 000, respectively, for the crime they committed on September 5, 2011.

Of the amounts, Wilson had to pay $5 000 forthwith while Ashby had to hand over $10 000 immediately. The men now have 12 months to settle their balances. If not paid, Wilson will spend three years at Dodds, while Ashby will be imprisoned for two years.

They were convicted, reprimanded and discharged for the offences of possession and importation.

Madam Justice Pamela Beckles, in handing down the sentences in Supreme Court No. 5 on Thursday, pointed to the aggravating factors of the case, namely the nature and gravity of the offences; the large amount of drugs seized, which she said suggested was to generate illegal profit; and the prevalence of these types of offences in society.

Taking that into consideration as well as the fact that no violence was used in carrying out the crime, the judge imposed a starting sentence of seven years in prison.

Justice Beckles then gave the men a 15 per cent discount for their guilty pleas that came after three state witnesses had given evidence. She also took into consideration their expressions of remorse, the time they spent on remand, and the 12-year delay in the matter being brought to trial.

The judge also took into account several personal factors that resulted in Wilson’s sentence being adjusted downwards by two years and Ashby’s by three years.

“I have been persuaded by the submissions made by counsel for the state and the defence that a substantial fine would be appropriate in the circumstances and that would meet the interest of justice,” Justice Beckles said.

The two were apprehended when police got information about a drug landing at Fitts Village, St James and found the men hauling a total of seven bags from the sea onto the beach.

Wilson and Ashby were represented by Senior Counsels Andrew Pilgrim and Arthur Holder, respectively.

The drug traffickers will return to court on April 30 for a review.

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Shakira Cu’Shan Prescott will spend seven more years in prison for inflicting a single stab to the chest of her 20-year-old boyfriend Sham Alleyne, which ended his life two years ago.

Before she learned her fate, she apologised to Alleyne’s family, her own relatives and the court for her “careless actions”, insisting that it was never her intent to kill the man she loved.

“To the man I once loved, Sham Elijah Alleyne, I am very sorry. An action that was not meant or intended for harm will reflect the circumstances that were unfolding in the moment. Having reflected on my actions, I am forced to become a better person to one and all,” she said tearfully in Supreme Court No. 3 on Friday.

She was given a starting sentence of 15 years, but after Justice Carlisle Greaves took into consideration the aggravating and mitigating features of the case, the time she had spent on remand, and her early guilty plea, that time was reduced to seven years.

Prescott had pleaded not guilty to murdering Alleyne but guilty to manslaughter in his stabbing death, which occurred in her White Hill, St Andrew neighbourhood on December 29, 2021.

Senior State Counsel Neville Watson outlined to the court evidence from witnesses who said that Alleyne had been outside sitting on a neighbour’s step chatting with a male friend when Prescott walked up and pushed and hit him in his shoulder and chest while accusing him of cheating on her. The two continued quarrelling as she followed him between the houses toward her home, and then when they returned and walked in the direction of the main road. Moments later, Alleyne ran back, clutching his chest, saying that Prescott had stabbed him.

According to the prosecutor, Alleyne collapsed in front of his friend. One male witness said they saw Prescott standing in the doorway of a nearby house with blood on her dress and a pair of scissors between her breasts. She headed to where Alleyne had fallen, checked his pulse and tried to resuscitate him by performing CPR but left the scene when the ambulance arrived.

Another witness had said he invited Alleyne into his home to get away from the argument but he went back outside minutes later and continued arguing with Prescott before she slapped and kicked him, put him into a headlock, and then pulled scissors from between her breasts and stabbed him once in the chest.

However, in her statement to the police, Prescott said the argument started when she had messaged Alleyne to bring over her shirt, which he dropped on the ground outside of her house. She went outside with scissors and a joint and started arguing with him, and they began pushing one another. The woman said Alleyne went into a neighbour’s house, and she took up his slippers and headed back home and Alleyne followed. She walked into her bedroom, but after she came back out and saw her boyfriend had cut up her slippers, she went outside to confront him about it, telling him she had cut up his as well. Prescott said she asked Alleyne, who was smoking a joint at the time, for $100 he owed her and he refused, pushed her, hit her several times about her head, and she fell. Grabbing the scissors which had fallen to the ground, she stabbed him once “so that he would stop cuffing me”. Prescott said Alleyne ran off and she ran into the house as she believed he had gone to find something to retaliate with.

She said it was only when his brothers came to tell her he was lying on the ground that she left the house. After checking his pulse, Prescott said, she told people who had gathered to bring Alcolado for him to smell and to rub on his forehead. She went home as the crowd started arguing with her about her actions. She returned to check on him again and went home once more before a friend called to say he had died. She then went to the police station with a neighbour.

A post-mortem report showed that Alleyne died due to haemorrhagic shock due to a single stab wound.

Outlining the aggravating factors, Watson said the now-convicted woman was the aggressor in the matter, she had been armed in advance with a dangerous weapon, the deceased was unarmed, and the offence was violent. He also pointed to the deleterious impact the act had on Alleyne’s family.

He said the only mitigating factor was Prescott’s attempt to provide first aid, and suggested a starting point of 24 years in prison, minus two years taking into consideration her assistance of the police and expression of remorse. With the one-third discount for her early guilty plea and the 1 043 days spent on remand also taken into account, Watson submitted that a sentence of 11 years and eight months behind bars would do justice in the case.

Pointing out that several witnesses, including Alleyne’s mother, indicated that the relationship between the two was often combative, defence attorney Sian Lange said the evidence shows a relationship characterised by violence and arguments.

She argued that this had to be taken into consideration when looking at the mitigating factors. The attorney asserted that Prescott could not be considered the lone aggressor as Alleyne had been pulled out of the fight but chose to head back outside to continue it.

She also said several witnesses had testified that Prescott often carried around the scissors to cut up marijuana, and, therefore, it was not a case of her being armed in advance as suggested by the prosecution.

Lange also highlighted that her client had tried to give Alleyne first aid but stopped when people in the neighbourhood began quarrelling with her for stabbing him.

She recommended a starting point of 15 years for the offence, deducting three years due to her not having any previous convictions, her cooperation with the police, her early guilty plea and her expression of remorse.

Lange submitted a sentence of five years and two months.

In handing down his ruling, Justice Greaves said: “I find and accept that even though she delivered the stab wound to the now deceased man, there was no intention to kill him because, had there been, the conviction would have been for murder.

“There was an intention or recklessness as to the nature of the injury she would inflict, but it could not be said that there was an intention really to inflict serious injury in the circumstances. Her conduct, one, with a single stab wound, tends to support that, and two, her attempt to apply resuscitation to him tends to indicate some remorse and regret about her actions.”

Mitigating in her favour, Justice Greaves said, was the fact that she had no previous convictions, her contrition and the fact that she cooperated with the police. An aggravating factor was her presentence report, which illustrated a moderate to high risk of re-offending.

After crediting Prescott for the early guilty plea and time on remand, he told her she had seven years and two months to spend behind bars.

“Life is fragile. He has gone to the grave, you have gone to jail, and what started it? A pair of slippers. Sometimes we really have to stop and see where little material things can drive us into the abyss,” Justice Greaves asserted.

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Moments before the closing addresses in his trial, Shane Alexander Riley threw in the towel and pleaded guilty to burglarising a home and stealing almost $10 000 in items.

Appearing before Madam Justice Wanda Blair in Supreme Court 4A on Friday morning, the 40-year-old of 2nd Avenue, Alleyne’s Land, St Michael admitted to entering as a trespasser the home of Natasha Holder and stealing two laptop computers valued at $4 600, one video camera valued $1 000, one necklace set valued $900, one chain set valued $700, one watch valued $900, one Kindle valued $400, one anklet valued $300, two rings valued $1 010, one pair of earrings valued $115, one piggy bank, and $30 in Barbadian currency, with a total value of $9 955, belonging to Holder, on January 24, 2012.

After he was re-arraigned and pleaded guilty to the charge, Justice Blair directed the nine-member jury to return a formal verdict of guilty.

A pre-sentence report was ordered.

Riley remains out on bail, and the matter was adjourned until January 19, 2024.

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A British national who failed to attend court on several occasions on gun and ammunition charges dating back a decade, claiming he had been facing health challenges, was on Friday remanded to prison.

Andrew Key, 58, whose local address is given as Josey Hill, St Lucy, is charged with possession of a shotgun, an air rifle, a 223 rifle, and a .22 rifle without a valid licence, and 3 093 rounds of ammunition without a valid permit, on July 24, 2013. He is also accused of unlawfully cultivating cannabis plants, possession of cannabis and possession of camouflage clothing – four pairs of pants, eight jackets, one tee shirt and one hat – without authorisation.

When he appeared before Justice Carlisle Greaves in Supreme Court No. 3, Key was asked why he had missed several court appearances. Before apologising for his absence, he said that he had a heart attack eight years ago and four subsequent strokes which affected his short-term memory.

“I would never miss a court date knowingly. I am here today and I would like to get this matter resolved as soon as possible…. I do not have long to live as my right brain is dead and as such, I have been informed that it will turn cancerous at some stage. I apologise again and will endeavour to not let it happen again,” the accused man said.

Key claimed that his last stroke was two weeks ago, but he admitted that he had not gone to the hospital. He also said he could not remember whether he had a stroke in 2021 or 2022, when asked by the judge.

“You disappeared from this court since July 26, 2021, and you are coming with excuses to me … as to why you have not turned up in this court for over a year. We have been looking all over the place for you!” Greaves told the accused gunman.

He then remanded Key into custody and ordered psychological and psychiatric assessments to determine his fitness for trial.

January 15, 2024, was set as a mention date for a trial date to be fixed.

“These offences are alleged to have occurred since 2013; the indictment was since 2020; we are now about to enter 2024. The delay is too much. It is time that the nation learns why a man was alleged to have all of these things,” the judge said.

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Most of the country’s criminal lawyers have withdrawn their practice in all the courts housed in the newly refurbished Henry Forde and David Simmons Legal and Judicial Complex on Coleridge Street, The City.

Their action is to press their demands for proper parking access for the attorneys conducting business in the complex nearly a year after the remodelled facility was opened, Barbados TODAY has learned. The Criminal Law Committee of the Barbados Bar Association Council took the decision with immediate effect.

Attorney General Dale Marshall described the action as surprising, unfortunate and extreme.

A letter from the committee to the Registrar of the Supreme Court Sharon Deane, dated November 6, gave her until Monday to have the matter rectified, failing which the legal practitioners would stage a peaceful protest to include “either significant tardiness in attending court” or refusing to work in the complex.

The Attorney General, Chief Justice Sir Patterson Cheltenham and Chief Magistrate Ian Weekes were copied on the correspondence.

The committee’s convenor, Martie Garnes, told Barbados TODAY that a recent incident involving a senior counsel who experienced problems parking on the compound prompted the lawyers to escalate their protest to immediate action.

He said the committee had previously expressed disappointment at the lack of access and inadequate parking facilities for the Coleridge Street complex that was the original seat of the nation’s major criminal, traffic, magistrate, high courts and registry before the Supreme Court Complex was built at Whitepark Road in 2009.

“Despite the Barbados Bar Association making similar representations on two previous occasions to the powers-that-be and the Criminal Law Committee making our grievances known to the public on behalf of the criminal law practitioners, attorneys are now left with no choice but to absent themselves from the complex in a form of peaceful protest,” the committee convenor said.

“Attorneys are an integral part of the justice system and, as such, parking should be provided for them to conduct their business in the courts. Attorneys were promised vehicular access since November 2022 and now, a year later, we are still seeking this most reasonable request.

“The attorneys have taken the stance that enough is enough and will not attend any of those courts until the situation is remedied immediately. It is quite unfortunate that the situation has escalated in this way, but their patience has waned thin,” Garnes added.

“We have now escalated it to this point where we… let all of the magistrates, all of the judges know we are not going back down there. So, basically, everybody that practises criminal [law] will not be turning up there.”

Late Friday, Attorney General Marshall told Barbados TODAY the lawyers’ action was extreme.

“I am truly surprised that such a simple matter could evoke such an extreme reaction to a situation that has been common to this court complex — and to Bridgetown generally — for more than half a century,” he said.

Marshall recalled the days when the Forde-Simmons Complex housed the entire judiciary and its staff, including the Registration Department, four Magistrates Courts and the Civil Office, “and there was no parking for lawyers then”.

“In those days, in fact, barely 15 years ago, everybody walked to court. Sir Elliot Mottley, Sir Frederick Smith, Alair Shepherd and LeRoy Inniss all walked to court. The young turks like Michael Lashley and Andrew Pilgrim also walked to court. They all walked with their books and their files.

“And now, because there is no parking, attorneys are taking protest action by deciding not to represent their clients in those courts or to be tardy for court? That is unfortunate. And I say it is unfortunate because just 50 metres away at the Supreme Court complex, there is dedicated parking for lawyers. In fact, only recently we increased the number of dedicated parking spaces for attorneys by 50.”

The government’s chief legal advisor argued that while attorneys doing business at the Henry Forde and David Simmons Legal and Judicial Complex may consider it inconvenient to walk 50 metres from the Supreme Court Complex’s parking lot, they may give some thought to the fact that across Bridgetown, workers park in paid parking lots and walk to work.

“That is the nature of working in capital cities all over the world,” the Attorney General suggested.

After several months of remodelling, the Coleridge Street courts were renamed for former attorneys general Henry Forde and David Simmons and reopened on November 18, 2022.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb

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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.

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Court hears how man planned and executed estranged wife’s killing

Weeks before sneaking into his estranged wife’s home to brutally kill her, Sean Watson purchased hardware supplies to use in the crime.

That was contained in a detailed statement the 46-year-old architectural draughtsman of Bannantyne Gardens, Christ Church gave to police about how he planned and executed the murder.

Director of Public Prosecutions Donna Babb-Agard SC read the statement in the No. 2 Supreme Court on Tuesday after Watson pleaded guilty to non-capital murder in relation to the stabbing death of 37-year-old Nicole Harrison-Watson on April 28, 2012.

As Watson sat in the dock fidgeting with his hands and rapidly bouncing his right leg, the court heard that on the evening in question, he drove a hired car to the workplace of Harrison-Watson, a clerical officer at Urban Development Commission, and then followed her as she dropped off a workmate before heading to her Ferniehurst, Black Rock, St Michael home.

Watson watched her for a little while, then left and returned when it was dark. He parked by a pasture near her home, waiting for four hours until she left to go to a reggae show. During that time, he sent her a message saying he had tickets to go to Vintage Reggae and he was letting her know “out of courtesy” that they might see one another. In fact, Watson had no tickets but wanted to see his estranged wife’s response. She only read the message but did not reply.

When she was picked up at the house, Watson followed her to Kensington Oval where the show was held, before going home and changing into an all-black pants and shirt, a dark blue overall and a hoodie. He then got into his own car, where he had packed a bag of “tools’’ a week prior. The bag contained a hammer, a rubber hammer, a chisel, two crowbars, duct tape, a roll of plastic, gloves, cable ties, two notepads, a black marker, some white rope, a box cutter, scissors, a knife and a pair of black riding gloves. He admitted purchasing the items in March from two hardware stores along with two containers of gasoline from the gas station.

Watson drove back to his wife’s neighbourhood around 1:30 a.m., parked his car by a church, and got out, taking with him the bag, gas containers and a black bed sheet to hang over the clothesline so no one could see him if they passed the yard.

He used a crowbar to pry open the door and enter the house. Heading upstairs to Harrison-Watson’s bedroom, he went through her camera, iPad, photos and notes on her computer, and her Facebook page. He also skimmed through her bills, receipts, salary slips, and even her passport to see if she had travelled since they had separated.

Watson then took four pre-cut pieces of rope from his bag, two of which he had labelled ‘HANDS’ and tied them to each corner of the bed. He said he walked between Harrison-Watson’s and her daughter’s bedrooms, listening for when she returned. He took off the overalls, goggles and boots he was wearing and put them in the daughter’s bedroom.

Watson also outlined in the statement his intention to die in the house with his wife.

When she returned home, he hid in the daughter’s bedroom until his wife fell asleep. He then tied her right leg and left hand and went through her Blackberry phone conversations, several of which were with males which upset him. It was when he attempted to move her right hand that Harrison-Watson awoke, and he placed one hand over her mouth and the other on her throat, choking her as she struggled. When she fell unconscious, he tied her remaining limbs, grabbed the plastic cling wrap he had placed next to the bed and wrapped it around her mouth and nose.

Even though he assumed she was dead, Watson took a kitchen knife from his bag and stabbed her twice in the neck.

“I was so pissed at her…. She made a fool of me after I gave her everything I had for her livelihood, along with her daughter’s. I felt so betrayed along with all the emotional abuse I endured while we were together, but she didn’t care,” he said in his statement.

Watson put back on his overalls and boots and left the house the same way he entered, leaving the gas containers, hoodie and black shirt in the yard.

He said that it was bright and the rain was falling when he left. According to Watson’s statement, he made several attempts to end his life. He said he went to several beaches to drown himself but was deterred when he saw people or rough seas. Watson claimed he even attempted suicide in the parking lot of his workplace before heading back home, cutting his neck in the shower, and laying down in his bed. After a while, he heard a friend at the door who came in and asked him what happened, and he replied, “I couldn’t take it anymore. I shouldn’t be alive and should be dead” before telling him to call his lawyer. His friend did that and took him to Sandy Crest Medical Centre for treatment. He was then transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Watson was also examined by psychiatrist Dr Ermine Belle of the Psychiatric Hospital, who determined that he showed no features of psychiatric illness and was fit to plead and able to instruct counsel.

Justice Randall Worrell has remanded Watson into custody until sentencing. A pre-sentencing report has been ordered for December 14, when sentencing submissions from Babb-Agard and Watson’s defence attorney, Bryan Weekes, are to be heard.

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After admitting to cuffing a man and fracturing his nose, Deshon Shaquille Harper offered to pay his victim $10 000 in compensation over the next two years.

However, Justice Randall Worrell is yet to determine whether that will be the price the 1st Avenue Fairfield, St Michael resident pays for his crime.

Having previously pleaded guilty to unlawfully and maliciously inflicting serious bodily harm on Derrick Reid on February 27, 2016, Harper made the proposal on Wednesday when he appeared in the No. 2 Supreme Court before Justice Worrell.

He had also faced the charge of causing serious bodily harm to Reid with intent to maim, disfigure or disable him or to do some serious bodily harm to him, but pleaded not guilty to that offence.

The incident that led to the charges took place at a bus stop near Oistins Bay Garden. After looking at Reid aggressively, Harper, with a group of males, approached him and punched him in the left eye.

Reid reported the matter to the police and he was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital where he was treated for a fractured nose and soft tissue injury to the face and eye.

In a previous court appearance, he said his medical expenses and not being able to work for a period of time because of the injuries had cost him around $14 000. Nevertheless, when asked by Justice Worrell if he was willing to take the $10 000 in compensation, paid in instalments over the next 24 months, Reid said he was.

The matter was adjourned until Friday when the judge will deliver the sentence.

Principal State Counsel Olivia Davis prosecuted the matter while Harper was represented by attorney Martie Garnes.

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Almost 30 police officers entered the Survivor’s Bar in Roach Village, St George in the early morning hours of October 6, 2018, to execute a search warrant which netted firearms and ammunition.

This was part of the evidence given by Inspector Dwayne Griffith as the trial against Dennis Alphonso Maynard got underway in the No. 3 Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Maynard is accused of possession of a .40 semi-automatic pistol, a .22 semi-automatic pistol, 39 rounds of ammunition and 1.25 grammes of cannabis on October 6, 2018.

Inspector Griffith, who was attached to the Criminal Investigations Department’s Anti-Guns and Gangs Unit at the time of the investigation, told the court that based on information received, a warrant was granted to search the bar. It was executed around 2:30 a.m. as some patrons were in the establishment.

Griffith said he approached the accused and gave him a copy of the warrant, which he appeared to read before telling police to proceed.

During the search, lawmen discovered a blue plastic bag which contained three boxes with the markings ‘Federal Law Enforcement Ammunition’, 14 12-gauge shotshell cartridges, 16 rounds of .40 calibre ammunition, four rounds of .22 ammunition, five rounds of 9mm calibre ammunition, one black and silver Beretta .40 pistol, one black Taurus .22 pistol, two magazines, and tissue containing cannabis.

During cross-examination of the police witness, Senior Counsel Andrew Pilgrim, who is representing the accused, asked whether the establishment was crowded when the police entered. Griffith said while there were people present, the bar was not crowded and the room was lit. He testified that 28 police personnel entered the establishment, some in plain clothes and others in uniform.

Responding to Pilgrim’s questions, he denied that people began fleeing when the officers entered. Questioned further, he admitted that two people were apprehended outside the bar in a bushy area and were searched. One was found to be in possession of a firearm while the other was carrying a quantity of cannabis.

Police Constable Elton Prescott of the Forensic Scenes of Crime Unit also produced photo evidence during the proceedings. He testified that he had checked the firearms for fingerprints, but none had been found. In addition, he said no DNA testing was conducted on either the firearms or ammunition.

Principal State Counsel Neville Watson and State Counsel Treann Knight are representing the state in the matter.

The trial continues on Thursday.

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The murder trial of Kason Kemar Edwards is expected to start on Wednesday in Supreme Court No. 2.

During his arraignment on Tuesday, the Gays, St Peter resident pleaded not guilty to the August 21, 2012 shooting death of Jason Husbands.

A 12-member jury was empanelled to hear the matter which will be presided over by Justice Randall Worrell.

Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Alliston Seale SC is representing the state along with State Counsels Paul Prescod and Dr Zoe King.

Marlon Gordon is Edwards’s defence counsel in the matter.

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The guns, ammunition and cannabis found during an early morning raid at the Survivor’s Bar in Roach Village, St George were in a hidden compartment in the establishment’s kitchen.

That was the evidence given by Station Sergeant Fabian Griffith as the trial of accused Dennis Alphonso Maynard continued in the No. 3 Supreme Court on Tuesday. Maynard is charged with possession of a .40 semi-automatic pistol, a .22 semi-automatic pistol, 39 rounds of ammunition and 1.25 grammes of cannabis on October 6, 2018.

Griffith told the court that he searched the kitchen of the bar, in the presence of Maynard who was the owner, when a search warrant was executed on that date.

“While searching, the accused man said to me, ‘Don’t contaminate the food, I beg you. People does have to eat this…. You could as well stop searching. All I got in here is food’,” the police witness recalled.
He told the court there was a ledge above the kitchen’s swing doors, and he stood on a stool and removed a transparent bag containing plastic cup covers. Behind that bag was an unpainted piece of plywood, which moved when he touched it, revealing “a secret compartment”.

“I lifted the plywood and I saw that beneath the plywood was a silver firearm and a black firearm. I also saw a transparent plastic bag which contained rounds of ammunition, a piece of tissue with more rounds of ammunition, a blue plastic bag that was tied and vegetable matter, which I suspected to be cannabis, that was scattered on the plywood. As a result, I shouted out, ‘I find firearms, ammunition and cannabis’,” he said.

Upon telling Maynard about his discovery, Sergeant Griffith said, the accused man replied, “Find guns in here? You ain’t find no guns in here. Show me them then.”

When asked who worked in the kitchen, the accused responded, “Ms Parris.” Maynard also told the police officer that he had passed through the kitchen later in the day.

During his subsequent interview at the police station, the accused said: “I do not know anything about no guns, ammunition or marijuana. What I have to say is that my shop is being accompanied by workers and people who pass through daily. Also, people that host events at my place does get the opportunity to utilise the whole place.”

Sergeant Griffith also testified that Maynard told police that at the time of the event at the bar, one of the hosts contacted him at home and requested bowls and cups, and when he took them to the bar, he observed there were a number of people moving in and out of his establishment.

Maynard told lawmen he had not gone into the bar and while outside, he heard somebody say “police” and he was then instructed to head inside. He stated that he identified himself as the bar’s proprietor when asked and was asked to accompany officers during the search.

The trial is scheduled to continue on Wednesday.

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Floyd Alan Leacock has admitted to chopping 74-year-old Patrick Barker to death in his home four years ago.

Appearing in the No. 2 Supreme Court on Tuesday, the 51-year-old of Clifton Hill, St Thomas entered a plea of not guilty of murder but admitted to manslaughter.

Outlining the facts, Principal State Counsel Oliver Thomas told the court that Barker, a retired mason, was at his Walkes Spring, St Thomas home with his daughter Kathy-Ann on February 12, 2019, when he told her he heard a window breaking. When she checked, she said it appeared as though someone had hit the window with a small rock. Her cousin next door also called to say she heard something breaking. When Kathy-Ann looked outside, she saw Muck (Leacock) walking up and down with a cutlass calling for Cave Man.

Leacock approached the house and started breaking the glass louvres in the door, and Barker, who was in the living room, shouted at him, asking why he was trying to break into the house.

Leacock then reached through the broken glass, unlocked the door and entered the home, rushing past Kathy-Ann and chopping at the deceased’s head, repeatedly saying, “Ya disrespectful”.

Kathy-Ann said her father raised his hands to protect his head, screaming, “You planning to kill me?”

She then rushed out of the house, seeking assistance from neighbours and family members to help subdue Leacock. Her brother came to the house and found Leacock in his father’s bedroom, still chopping him. The son and other people threw objects to distract Leacock and eventually managed to subdue him and tie him up.

Several neighbours, including Station Sergeant Carson Henry, rendered first aid to Barker and police and an ambulance arrived. However, the elderly man died at the scene.

When he was interviewed at the station, Leacock told the police that he was looking for Cave Man but those in the house would not tell him if he was home. He also said when he broke into the house, everyone was armed with weapons and he was only defending himself by chopping Barker “three or four times”.

A post-mortem-report showed that the elderly man had received over 40 chops to his head, face and arms.

A psychiatric report was conducted on Leacock. It stated that he suffers from chronic schizophrenia and displayed a co-occurring cannabis use disorder where the use of the drug worsens his condition.

He admitted in one of his interviews that when he uses marijuana, he “does trip out” and is filled with rage.

Before the incident, Leacock had been admitted to the Psychiatric Hospital several times.

The matter was adjourned until November 28, 2023.

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Four men accused of the 2014 aggravated burglary of a Bridgetown arcade walked free from the No. 2 Supreme Court on Tuesday after the complainants indicated they were no longer interested in pursuing the matter.

They are 36-year-old Joshua Dale Medford of Lot 3, #56 Kensington Lodge, St Michael; Denmar McCarthy Saffrey, 37, of Smith Corner, Sargeants Village, Christ Church; Obrian David Barnes, 38, of #203 Pondside Bay Street, St Michael; and Lance Ryan Padmore, 40, of  Fairfield Cross Road, Black Rock, St Michael.

They were jointly charged with entering as trespassers the Pool Hall on Marhill Street on March 24, 2014, and stealing one digital video recorder valued at $73 319.55 belonging to Winning Streak Incorporated, and that they had a firearm with them at the time.

They were also accused of stealing one bangle valued at $300, belonging to Carol Corbin; one cell phone valued at $1 600, belonging to Rolan Vanderpool; and a cell phone valued at $500, belonging to Isline Small, on the same date.

When the men appeared before Justice Randall Worrell, Principal State Counsel Oliver Thomas informed the court that the complainants had indicated they no longer had an interest in pursuing the matters.

The judge informed the four that the matter was dismissed and that they were free to go.

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A defence witness told the court on Wednesday it was him, not the man charged before the court, who was responsible for two guns being placed in the spot police found them in at Survivors Bar and Chill Spot five years ago.

Anthony Williams, alias Hyper, testified in the trial of Dennis Alphonso Maynard, that he and another man who he referred to as Brekkie rented the Roach Village, St George bar, owned by the accused, to host a birthday fete on October 5, 2018. During the event, he said, he instructed another man to place the guns in a compartment on the ledge above the kitchen doors.

His testimony came after Maynard, who is charged with possession of a .40 semi-automatic pistol, a .22 semi-automatic pistol, 39 rounds of ammunition and 1.25 grammes of cannabis on October 6, 2018, gave an unsworn testimony from the dock in the No. 3 Supreme Court.

Giving evidence from the witness stand, Williams said that while the fete was going on, he went to the door to meet two people, Dog Catcher and Gaza.

“Dog Catcher had something in his hand. There’s a part where you does keep money so I tell Gaza go and put up those things in there for me…. It was two guns, Sir,” Williams said.

Questioned by Senior Counsel Andrew Pilgrim, who is representing Maynard, about where the guns were placed, Williams said they were placed in a compartment where money was kept during events. He claimed that the accused was not present at the establishment when the firearms were brought in.

When asked how he had intimate knowledge of the bar, Williams told the court that he was a carpenter by trade and had built the bar more than ten years ago, including the compartment on the ledge above the kitchen doors. 

He said Gaza had helped him in the construction and, therefore, knew where he was talking about when directed to put up the guns.

Williams said that later in the night, as the fete was going on, he went over to Maynard’s house and knocked on his bedroom window to inform him that more bowls and cups were needed at the bar. 

Saying that he was outside when the police “bore” the fete, Williams recalled that Maynard was taken into custody by the officers, but stressed that at no point either during the raid or after was he, as the event’s host, asked about the firearms by any member of the Barbados Police Service.

He also denied touching the guns.

“I didn’t touch them. I send somebody to put them up dey so,” he said.

During cross-examination by Principal State Counsel Neville Watson, Williams denied that the accused was his friend, and said he did not know him well.

Asked if he had seen the guns, the witness replied in the affirmative, saying one was silver and black and the other was all black; however, he did not know what type of guns they were.

“They were nuttin too big nor too long,” he testified.

“Did you see when the police took away Dennis Maynard?” the prosecutor asked. “You didn’t care that the police arrested this man?” 

“Sir, if the police did come to me, they woulda know that he was not involved…. They didn’t come to me,” Williams responded.

In his unsworn statement, Maynard told the nine-member jury that he had leased his bar to Williams and another man to host a fete on October 5, 2018. He said that on the night in question, upon returning home, he saw a gathering inside and outside of the establishment.

Around 2 a.m. on October 6, 2018, he was woken by Williams who said that cups and bowls were needed and he went to deliver them. The accused said he did not go into the bar and was standing outside when the police arrived. 

He said that after identifying himself as the proprietor when asked, he was given a warrant for the search and he told the police to go ahead. Maynard said when the search moved to the kitchen, the police officer asked him and another person, a kitchen worker, to accompany him. After the guns were discovered, both he and Greene denied knowing about the firearms.

“I told him to ask the people who I rented the bar to because I don’t know about no guns. He paid me no mind,” Maynard recalled, saying he repeated this several times, but it fell on “deaf ears”.

The accused said he was later taken to the District ‘A’ and the Oistins Police Stations before he was fingerprinted and formally charged. 

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