Youngster jailed for wounding Cop

Twenty-year old Terrance Robinson of Penniston was on Tuesday sentenced to nine months in prison when he appeared before the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court and was found guilty of wounding a policeman.
Robinson was arrested and charged for wounding police constable Curtis Clarke on July 3, this year.
The lone independent witness, Rosarinne Porter of Green Hill, told the court that during the night of July 3 she was at the bridge at Heritage Square where there was a carnival session, when Robinson approached her, held her around the waist and asked her to dance. She said she refused and his companion, Joseph Primus, started dancing wildly and bouncing on her. She pushed him but he continued.
Porter also said a young man, whom she later discovered was a policeman, came to speak to Primus, asking him to leave her alone. Robinson, who had a Guinness pint and a Hairoun pint in his hands, hurled them at him, striking him on his shoulder and in his face.
Porter said that after the policeman went down on the ground, Robinson and Primus fled the scene.
Having heard from the prosecution and having listened to Robinson’s vehement denial, Senior Magistrate Carl Joseph said the prosecution’s evidence was overwhelming. He said the witness, Porter, was at the scene and she did not know either party involved.
“That is what is totally, totally independent and sound evidence”, he said. “There is no doubt in my mind that it was the person, Terrance Robinson, who threw the bottles”.
The Senior Magistrate said the Police constable was at the carnival celebration enjoying himself as any civilian but he saw it as his duty to intervene in a matter and was on the receiving end. He added that the officer acted as a “good citizen” and that he could not do anything but to send Robinson to prison.
“I have to send a message out to everybody. The lesson, particularly when everybody is there, letting their hair down and foreigners are there also”.
On imposing the sentence, the Senior Magistrate said that he took into account that Robinson was twenty years of age and had no previous conviction, but he was a liar and there were too many aggravating features.
Meanwhile, Robinson’s companion, Primus was charged with assaulting the policeman with intent. It was alleged that Primus threw a bottle at the policeman, but it missed.
Primus’s lawyer, Ronald Marks made a no-case submission, contending that Porter’s evidence exculpated him in that she said she did not see him with any bottle. The no-case submission was upheld by the Senior Magistrate.