Petit Bordel men for sentencing

Three Petit Bordel residents will be sentenced on December 17, on charges of attempted murder, possession of a firearm with intent to commit an offence and wounding.{{more}}

The trio: Sheldon, Shelton and Roland Hooper, all relatives, were convicted in the High Court last week week by a nine-member jury for the attempted murder of Lesroy DeGrads, also of Petit Bordel, on October 30, 2009.

They were also convicted of unlawful use of a firearm.

On the other hand, Shelton was convicted for wounding Sweet-I Robertson, 19, of Chateubelair and unlawful use of a firearm.

Robertson is now permanently confined to a wheelchair, as she was shot in the neck and left paralyzed.

The prosecution’s case was that there was a Heritage pageant at the Petit Bordel Secondary School (PBSS), which finished around 2 a.m.

Following the close of the show, there was an argument between DeGrads and Sheldon. Sheldon then made a telephone call and told someone to “bring the thing; the whole crew is down here.”

Minutes later, Sheldon’s brother, Shelton, along with their cousin Roland, appeared with two firearms. Sheldon then went to Roland, took the gun from him and fired at DeGrads. His brother also fired shots in the area of the school where the crowd was exiting.

Robertson, who was on her way home, attempted to run, but was shot.

In her testimony to court, Robertson, who had to be lifted in her chair to get inside the courtroom, told jurors that she was walking home when she heard an argument between DeGrads and cattleman (Sheldon).

“Lesroy and cattleman was going to fight. I see Lesroy run for a bottle and then I run out of the road. Cattleman went down to the first gap and came back with something in a white hat…,” Robertson testified, as one of the court’s bailiffs sat next to her and continuously wiped the sweat from her face.

She said it was a gun.

Robertson, who was a fifth form student at the PBSS at the time of the incident, said “He pull it out and fire and the shot caught me the same time in my neck. I was paralyzed and couldn’t move.”

She was taken to the Chateaubelair hospital before being taken to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital.

Following questions from the unrepresented men, Robertson said Cattleman was saying “somebody going dead tonight.”

She recalled that Cattleman was wearing a white hat and a white T-shirt at the time.

“I was walking in the company of others. I was walking in front when the argument took place. When I got the shot, I didn’t see anyone. It was me alone on the ground.”

Robertson further testified that she was about to run, but the bullet had already caught her.

In his testimony, Sheldon denied the accusations and stated that it was his brother and Roland who had the guns.

Roland denied that.

Justice Wesley James presided over the matter, while crown counsel Colin John presented the crown’s case.(KW)