Nassau, Bahamas – A man accused of killing popular primary school teacher Joyelle McIntosh during a botched armed robbery will be tried a second time.
The Court of Appeal in a unanimous decision on Wednesday, December 22 ordered a retrial for 23-year-old Makaveli Tinker, while acquitting his alleged accomplices Johnny Mackey and Armando Sargent outright.
On November 11, 2015, McIntosh, who taught at Queen’s College, and her then-13-year-old son were driving along Parkgate Road near the junction of Village Road when he told his mother a man was lying in the road.
The man sat up as McIntosh swerved to avoid hitting him. Soon after, a gunshot shattered the driver’s window and struck her in the neck.
McIntosh’s car eventually crashed into a wall. Her son ran from the vehicle and was shot at as he fled.
On the prosecution’s case, Tinker, then 17, was the shooter. They alleged that Mackey acted as a decoy and Sargent was the lookout.
Tinker allegedly admitted to the shooting in two confessions.
The three-judge panel ruled that the trial judge wrongly admitted Tinker’s first confession because it did not take place in the presence of a guardian or an appropriate adult.
The court ruled that allowing the jury to hear the first confession made his convictions unsafe.
The second alleged confession, which will be relied upon in the retrial, was witnessed by a pastor and social worker after police couldn’t contact Tinker’s mother.
Tinker will be retried on charges of murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and attempted armed robbery.
He will remain in custody until then, unless he’s granted bail.
The Court allowed the appeals of Mackey and Sargent after finding there was no evidence that they knew a gun was present.
McIntosh’s son identified Mackey as the man who lay in the street as the decoy.
Mackey also admitted to lying in the street in a confession. However, he said he was there because he “had caught a cramp.”
This evidence was insufficient to support the convictions of murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and attempted armed robbery as the prosecution did not prove Mackey knew there was a gun, the Court said.
In his statement, Sargent admitted that he was with Tinker and Mackey on the day in question. He claimed that he knew there would be a robbery when Mackey lay in the street and Tinker “stood in the cut.”
The Court ruled that there was no evidence that Sargent knew a gun was present. Consequently, the Court quashed his convictions for manslaughter, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and attempted armed robbery were quashed.
Christina Galanos represented Mackey and Sargent and Romona Farquharson-Seymour and Stanley Rolle appeared for Tinker.
Vernal Collie appeared for the Crown.
