Man jailed for shooting ex-girlfriend in leg

From this week, an Ottley Hall resident must spend 12 years 10 months and two weeks in prison for shooting his ex-girlfriend multiple times in her legs and causing her lasting damage.

Lara Carter, 35 years old, was sentenced last Thursday, December 12, for the attempted murder and wounding of Bennisha Baptiste, also of Ottley Hall.

He was unanimously convicted by a nine-member jury on November 28.

Baptiste and Carter, according to the facts presented by the court, had a rocky seven-year relationship during which a child was born.

Their relationship ended in April 2018, and their child died in July 2018 at the age of two after he was electrocuted by a ground wire at his grandparents’ house.

During their relationship, Baptiste was said to be the victim of physical violence on Carter’s part and even after their relationship had ended, Carter was not prepared for it to be finished.

There were several unwanted calls, visits, and messages to Baptiste from Carter.

On October 12, Baptiste received a message from Carter inviting her to his home, which she declined. Carter’s response was said to be a string of emojis depicting a gun, a casket and an arrow saying soon. Like other times before, this was taken to be a threat on her life.

These messages were shown to a friend of hers and her boyfriend “Bunny” who she met along the road in Ottley Hall that night. She deleted the messages after showing it to “Bunny”, and the two decided to hang out at an abandoned building near the road. While there, Baptiste saw Carter pass by, and became worried. However, her boyfriend told her Carter couldn’t do anything.

At 9pm Baptiste was ready to go home, and, exiting the house after “Bunny”, she was shot in her leg. She tried to run but multiple shots to her legs forced her to the ground. When she hit the ground she heard Carter’s voice saying “Yo b**ch.” She also saw Carter chasing “Bunny” while holding a gun.

In order to get help Baptiste was forced to drag herself/crawl to find someone.

The police came to the scene and Baptiste told them what happened before she was carried to the hospital. At the hospital, she underwent surgery and fragments of lead were removed.

Carter was later taken into police custody, and while at the station he is said to have issued threats concerning Baptiste and her family.

He denied the story, saying that at the time of the incident, he was at home with a female friend, his parents and cousins.

However, at Carter’s trial, during which the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) (Ag) Sejilla McDowall represented the prosecution, he called several alibi witnesses, who gave conflicting evidence.

Baptiste, who has become limited in her movement, was present at the High Court for the sentencing. Not only is she experiencing ongoing effects from the attack, she now has a new born baby to take care of as well.

After considering the features of the case, and subtracting the time already spent in prison, Justice Brian Cottle sentenced Carter to spend 12 years, 10 months and three weeks from the date of December 12, 2019.