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Killer’s sentence reduced to 16 years on appeal

Lisa Brown
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Killer’s sentence reduced to 16 years on appeal

NASSAU- A man who beat a 64-year-old man to death with a conch shell has had his sentence cut by appeal judges.

Ashley Hield was 21 when he bludgeoned John Frazier in 2015.

He was charged with murder, but jurors convicted him of the lesser crime of manslaughter in 2019.

As a result, he was sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment.

His lawyer, Stanley Rolle, argued that the trial judge did not impose a sentence in accordance with the jury’s verdict.

The Court of Appeal agreed and cut his sentence to 20 years.

After receiving credit for time spent on remand, Hield’s sentence was reduced to 16 years and five years.

According to the prosecution’s case, on August 24, 2015, Frazier asked two men on Gibbs Corner if they wanted to make five dollars by assisting him and his friend, Ted, change a flat tire.

Hield robbed Frazier of his gold chain while Ted went to a store to change a $20 note to pay them.

Frazier followed Hield, requesting the return of his chain.

According to witnesses, Hield hit Frazier in the head about five times with a conch shell.

Frazier tried to get up, but Hield attacked him again.

In his testimony, Hield said that while helping change the tire Frazier began rushing him.

This annoyed him and tried to leave.

However, he and Frazier ended up “hassling.”

Hield said he walked off, but Frazier pursued him seeking payment for chain that had popped in the hassle.

He said Frazier threw rocks at him from behind and began charging at him with a broken a bottle, making him fearful for his life.

That’s when he picked up the conch shell and hit Frazier in the head.

Lawyer promises to repay client

Lisa Brown
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0
Lawyer promises to repay client

NASSAU- A lawyer accused of stealing almost $180,000 from a client has promised to repay the money.

Philip Lundy, 62, allegedly stole $175,578 from Donald Campbell, who he represented in a real estate deal.

The money was to purchase a home in Pride Estates.

At a recent appearance before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt, Lundy promised to pay Campbell at least half of the money owed by September 9.

He said the balance would be paid by November 17.

Cop shooter seeks plea deal to lesser crime

Lisa Brown
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0
Cop shooter seeks plea deal to lesser crime

NASSAU- A man, who shot two police officers responding to a domestic violence call, is trying to work out a plea deal.

Marty Sawyer shot Chief Superintendent Wendell Smith and Corporal 3688 Andre Linden with a shotgun at his home in Marsh Harbour, Abaco.

Sawyer, who was also injured in the November 24, 2020 incident, is charged with attempted murder. Sawyer and his victims received treatment at Doctors’ Hospital.

However, his lawyer Alex Maillis, wants him to plead out to a lesser crime. He said they are waiting on the officers’ medical reports to conclude the plea discussions.

According to Maillis, prosecutors agree Sawyer shouldn’t face attempted murder charges. He said Sawyer wasn’t in his right mind when he shot the officers.

Maillis told Senior Justice Bernard Turner, “It does not excuse the conduct on the day; there has to be consequences, but the discussions center around the appropriateness of the charge. And, the extent of the injuries of the officers involved is indeed a material fact.”

The matter has been adjourned to September 9 for a possible guilty plea.

Crooked contractor jailed

Lisa Brown
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1
Crooked contractor jailed

NASSAU- A building contractor who took advantage of a client has been sentenced to six months in prison.

Kevin Frazier, 51, pleaded guilty to stealing $10,000 Gracie Knowles on October 1, 2020 for work that he never started.

After his guilty plea to a charge of stealing by reason of service, Frazier refunded Knowles $5,000 of the money that he stole from her.

But he failed to return the remainder by the deadline set by Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt, which resulted in his imprisonment.

Knowles has a second complaint of stealing by reason of service against Frazier regarding $34,000 that she paid him on July 23, 2020.

Frazier has maintained his not guilty plea to that charge. That matter has been adjourned to August 16.

 

Man shot dead while walking along street

Lisa Brown
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0
Man shot dead while walking along street

NASSAU- Police are looking for a shooter after a man was gunned down while walking along Montgomery Avenue Friday night.

The shooting happened shortly after 10pm in Flamingo Gardens.

According to police, a gunman opened fire on the victim and ran away in an unknown direction.

The victim died on the scene.

Accused killer fined for bail violation

Lisa Brown
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0
Accused killer fined for bail violation

NASSAU- The man accused of killing a Cabinet Minister’s brother has admitted to violating his bail conditions.

Police arrested Lynden “Peanut” Williams on July 21 for staying out past his 10pm curfew.

Williams, 24, is charged with the August 4, 2018 murder of Cabreo Wells, the brother of Health Minister Renward Wells at Ridgeland Park.

Williams told Magistrate Samuel McKinney that he broke his curfew after he had an argument with his girlfriend at their home.

Williams claimed that he went to sleep in his car following their dispute.

Police arrested him when he went to buy “something to smoke” to calm himself down from a nearby shop around 12:30am.

Williams said the police stopped his car when he turned through the corner.

The magistrate told Williams that the offense carried a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment and a $50,000 fine.

However, Magistrate McKinney did not impose the maximum penalty due to Williams’ early guilty plea and the nature of the violation.

Instead, he fined Williams $2,500 or six months in prison.

Court seizes gun of man who fired at ‘suspicious’ car

Lisa Brown
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0
Court seizes gun of man who fired at ‘suspicious’ car

NASSAU- A magistrate cancelled the gun license and seized the shotgun of a man who shot at a “suspicious car.”

Alex Knowles, 44, said he was in fear of his life when a heavily tinted car slowed down in front of his home after 9pm on April 30.

Knowles pleaded guilty to wantonly discharging a firearm.

This prompted Knowles to retrieve his shotgun from his Winton Meadows home. Knowles told Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle-Davis that he shouted, “Who you is and who you come to?”

However, he got no response. Knowles said he fired a shot into the air when the backdoor of the car swung open.

Knowles said, “I fired one shot in the air and the car sped off. I didn’t know who was coming out of the backseat of that car.”

He added,” I thought I was going to die. I had no idea who was in it.”

Knowles later learned that Kimberley Dames was dropping his brother-in-law home.

Senior Magistrate Derence Rolle-Davis did not find Knowles’s reaction reasonable.

He said, “The court is of the view that this defendant ought not be in possession of a firearm. The gun is confiscated, and the license is cancelled forthwith.”

Knowles was also fined $1,000 or two months in prison.

Man accused of rape

Lisa Brown
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0
Man accused of rape

NASSAU- Police have charged a 54-year-old man with rape.

Prosecutors say Akeem Wilson, who also uses the surname Watson, raped a 21-year-old woman on July 5.

Wilson did not have to enter a plea to the charge when he appeared before Magistrate Shaka Serville on July 16.

Serville remanded Wilson into custody because he did not have the authority to consider bail for the offense.

However, Wilson was advised of his right to seek bail in the Supreme Court.

Wilson returns to court on September 22.

Bail refused for second assault on same man

Lisa Brown
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0
Bail refused for second assault on same man

NASSAU- A man on bail for attempted murder and armed robbery is back in custody on a new charge.

Prosecutors allege that Rasheed Watson tried to run over philanthropist Demetrius Smith with an ice cream van on July 11. The incident allegedly happened at the Coral Harbour roundabout.

Watson pleaded not guilty to the charge at his arraignment before Assistant Chief Magistrate Subusola Swain.

At the time of the alleged incident, Watson, 21, of Dignity Gardens, was already on bail for allegedly trying to kill Smith during an armed robbery at his home on February 9, 2020.

An assailant stabbed Smith and took his Chevrolet Tahoe, which had $2,500 inside.

Police arrested the suspect after the vehicle crashed into a wall during a pursuit.

Assistant Chief Magistrate Subusola Swain remanded Watson to prison because he had allegedly reoffended while on bail.

Watson, however, can seek bail in the Supreme Court.

He returns to court on October 7.

Probation for serial child abductor

Lisa Brown
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0
Probation for serial child abductor

NASSAU- A mentally ill woman who abducted four boys and attempted to kidnap a fifth was sentenced to three years of supervised probation on Tuesday.

De’Edra Gibson, 31, carried out the spree of kidnappings from February 16 to March 29, 2019.

While on bail for those offenses, Gibson tried to snatch a seven-year-old boy as he walked to school on December 9, 2019.

Senior Justice Bernard Turner sentenced Gibson to probation pursuant to a plea deal.

Gibson was on bail when she pleaded guilty to child stealing and attempted child stealing. The offenses attract a potential sentence of 10 years in prison.

As part of her sentence, Gibson must continue to get outpatient psychiatric care—a condition of her release on bail.

She is required to attend court every six months for a compliance check. Her next court appearance is scheduled for January 20, 2022.

She will have to serve two years in prison if she commits another offense while on probation.

Gibson did not physically harm her victims. However, she showed little regard for their welfare by dropping them off on the streets.

Gibson’s campaign of terror began when she snatched an eight-year-old boy from in front of his home on February 6, 2019, as he rode his bike. She dropped the frightened child off at the Sunrise Laundromat on Joe Farrington Road the following day.

Then on March 6, she lured an eight-year-old boy who was playing basketball into her car. She drove to the city dump and ordered him out the car.

The day after, Gibson offered another eight-year-old boy who was walking home a ride. Instead of taking him home, she took him to the dump.

On March 29, Gibson picked up an eight-year-old boy from Lumumba Lane and dropped him at the dump.

Gibson was wearing an ankle bracelet as a condition of bail for those offenses when she attempted to abduct a seven-year-old student of Sandilands Primary School as he walked to school with his uncle on December 9.

The boy’s uncle rescued him by pulling him from Gibson’s car.

Uel Johnson represented Gibson and Destiny McKinney prosecuted.

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