Man fined for wounding, threatening police officer

THE BOND BETWEEN two childhood friends withered last Sunday, after one smashed a flower pot on the head of the other.

Kwesi Gurley appeared before the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court on April 17, charged with the offences of unlawfully and maliciously wounding police officer and longtime friend Sylvannus Baptiste, and making use of threatening language, to wit “Me have me 45-gun home and me go shoot you.”

With this particular case, there was some back and forth with sentencing Gurley, who had pleaded guilty. Senior Magistrate Rickie Burnett felt he had to send the matter to the Serious Offences Court, as he did not think he could remain impartial. This was because the injured police officer is also the son of the clerk for the Magistrate’s court, with whom he has been working for six or seven years. After the Magistrate recused himself, Gurley went upstairs to be sentenced by Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne-Matthias. There, he had a lot to say for Browne-Matthias to consider in sentencing.

Before the defendant could be brought to court, the police also had to follow up on the threat and went to the defendant’s home in search of the “.45-gun”; which was not retrieved.

Quarter to seven in the evening last Sunday, Gurley was said to have been arguing with his girlfriend at Questelles Beach, before she left. The defendant apparently ran behind her and struck her in her head with an object. What seemed to be blood began running down her face. PC Baptiste was on the scene and saw what happened. He held on to Gurley and spoke to him about his behaviour and the defendant, who reacted aggressively to this, took up a flower pot from a porch and smashed it over PC Baptiste’s head. He continued fighting with the officer, while making threats, which included the mention of the gun.

When the Chief Magistrate asked the accused if he had anything to say, Gurley jumped on the chance to tell ‘My honour’ of his frustrations in relation to the incident.

“My friend and dem was having a cook and we was drinking,” Gurley later clarifying that he and his friends were two strong rum bottles deep into their drinking session. The beach cookout turned into an argument between his girlfriend (or who he says is his ex-girlfriend) and her friends and the defendant and his friends. The argument had started after somebody jumped, or hit Gurley’s back ‘real hard’. Startled, he threw a bottle which hit his ex-girlfriend.

“When I bin arguing up with she and them, Sylvannus hold me now and he give me a box right across my temple dey,” Gurley claimed.

Gurley said that the officer, “start to box me all round, I nearly dead… I couldn’t even talk.” He said the officer’s ‘big strong cousin’ became involved and “the two of them hold me and start to box out my belly.” He pointed out his dirty pants and said he was dragged on the ground.

With regard to his threats and angry behaviour, Gurley said he did it because he was intoxicated and that someone told him that “you don’t even know which par you sleep” and that he “wouldn’t tell your honour no lie.”

There was some consideration on whether to change his guilty plea to not guilty, since he told the court that he was intoxicated, but Gurley said he remembered the altercation. As for the threats, “That time I was talking all kinda ting. I was cussin, I was cussin, I ain gon tell you no lie. Becah me really vex.”

Browne-Matthias noted that while Gurley was fighting up with the officer, Baptiste got a number of wounds and that the doctor nearly didn’t have space to write them all on the medical form. “He aint even get a stitches,” he responded, while saying that the police officer at the Questelles station asked the PC if they threw him out of the hospital.

Gurley begged to be fined, but the Chief Magistrate asked him “Suppose I don’t want to?” adding suppose she wanted to send him to where “the breeze is cool.”

He responded that he was drunk, to which Browne-Matthias responded, “Well you must stop drinking. You have a problem!”

Gurley, who stuck to his guns, mumbled, “Me ain have no problem.”

He was remanded for a day, in hopes of the complainant’s presence in court the next day, but the officer was taking part in police training.

Therefore, on Wednesday, Gurley was fined $600 for the threats, and $250 in compensation for the injury. All money is to be paid by April 30. Gurley is also bonded for six months in the sum of $900.