….after row over marijuana escalates
Colin Daly and Rayon Jonas of Mandela Avenue, Georgetown on Monday found themselves arraigned before Georgetown Magistrate Judy Latchman in the aftermath of an alleged row over drugs, during which Jonas sustained severe chops to his right arm after allegedly firing gunshots at Daly.
According to the Prosecution’s case, Daly is alleged to have inflicted grievous bodily harm on the person of Jonas on May 8, 2017 at East La Penitence, Georgetown, but he has denied this charge.
Defence Counsel Darren Wade, in a bail application, said his client, Daly, is 23 years old; resides at East La Penitence, Georgetown; has been in Police custody since last Monday; and is currently unable to seek much-needed medical attention.
The Prosecutor contended that the two men were engaged in an argument when Jonas fired shots in the direction of Daly, hitting him in the right arm. Daly then armed himself with a cutlass and dealt Jonas several chops to the right hand.
Daly was placed on G$60,000 bail without objection from the prosecutor, and his matter was adjourned to June 12.
Jonas, on the other hand, was charged with discharging a loaded firearm at Daly with intent to maim, disfigure, disable, or cause grievous bodily harm to Daly’s person.
With his arm in a cast, Jonas pleaded not guilty to this offence; and Defence Attorney Paul Fung-A-Fat contended that there are no eyewitnesses to implicate his client in the shooting. He submitted that the teen does not even own a gun.
Charging that the allegation stemmed from an ongoing feud between the two parties, Fung-A-Fat accused Daly of holding a grievance against his client. He therefore requested bail in those special circumstances, to enable his client to seek medical attention for his severely injured limb.
However, Jonas was denied bail, and this promoted his lawyer to question the basis on which Magistrate Latchman had refused to grant bail. He argued that Jonas’s arm was “barely being held together” in the cast, while Daly had suffered a mere bullet graze to his arm from the alleged shooting.
The parties are expected to return to court on June 12.
