– says charges should be reinstituted against alleged killer
Shawn Nelson
Police ranks who failed to attend court to testify, as in the case of the Orange Walk shooting incident, which saw the shooter walking scotch free, should be disciplined, if not, face criminal charges.
These were the sentiments of Police Complaints Authority (PCA) Chairman, retired Justice Cecil Kennard on Wednesday during a telephone interview.
Justice Kennard said it is sad that despite the fact that sufficient evidence was gathered for the case, the police ranks did not show up in court.
“If it is a case where the police ranks all teamed up and decide not to give evidence in the case, then I think that they should be charged with conspiring to defeat the course of justice.”
First, he said the police will have to determine if that was the case. He added that this is one of the issues that have been hampering the judicial system over the years, but will take some time to correct unless something drastic happens.
The retired justice also highlighted that another sad affair was the missing footage of the shooting which was supposed to be presented in court.
Once there is no video evidence presented by the state and more so by the investigating officer, it is a clear indication that the entire proceeding was planned, he added.
However, Kennard explained that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) would have had the evidence in her possession when she reviewed the case, and as such, should recommend that charges be reinstituted against the shooter Carlyle Barton.
However, there might not be anyone to read the charges to since the cricketer hurriedly left the country.
He said that Barton was charged with an indictable matter whereby he was not required to plead, noting that the charges can be reinstituted.
Appeal the case
He encouraged the family to appeal the case and set up a meeting with the DPP if they are not satisfied with the outcome. His office, he added is always open to give advice, he said.
Kennard said that a life has been taken and justice must be served. He said, to date, no one from Nelson’s family has visited his office.
There were rumours that the cricketer would have paid a hefty some to “get off” and soon after it happened, he left the country.
Months after Barton was charged for the murder of Shawn “Red Man” Nelson on Orange Walk, Georgetown earlier this year, he was freed, owing to the absence of witnesses, among them police detectives.
Magistrate Fabayo Azore discharged the case at the preliminary inquiry (PI) stage, saying that a prima facie case was not made despite there being video evidence of the cricketer – Carlyle Barton – when he allegedly shot Nelson, with whom he had a long- standing friendship.
Lack of evidence
Magistrate Azore announced that she was forced to set him free, owing to the lack of evidence since the witnesses failed to show up.
Barton made his first court appearance on May 28 before Magistrate Sueanna Lovell and was not required to plead to the indictable charge, which stated that on May 27 at Orange Walk, he murdered Nelson.
The matter was then transferred to another court where the PI had commenced.
As the PI continued, several prosecution witnesses did not show up to testify, which brought a halt to the proceedings and forced the case to be adjourned.
The entire shooting incident was captured on surveillance cameras and based on the evidence, the cricketer was charged with the man’s death. The surveillance recording that was uplifted from a nearby business was reportedly not presented in court.
On the day of the shooting incident, Nelson had left his D’Urban Street home and was walking to his Robb Street job when he was shot.
He was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries the following day. After driving away from the scene, a panicked Barton crashed his car a number of times on his way home. Barton later surrendered to the police in the company of his lawyer.
