MONTEGO BAY, St James — A man who was accused of destroying several items at the Transport Authority office in Freeport, Montego Bay, and even biting one of the officers, was acquitted of malicious destruction of property at the end of his trial in the St James Parish Court on Tuesday.

However, although he was cleared of the malicious destruction of property charge, St James resident Roger Moore will still face trial for unlawful wounding in connection with biting the officer.

On Tuesday, trial judge Sasha-Marie Smith-Ashley heard testimonies from two Crown witnesses.

The first witness was the Transport Authority area supervisor and complainant in the case. He testified that on November 1 about 12:05 pm, he was at the company’s Freeport office having a meeting with his manager when someone arrived and notified the manager that a man wanted to see her. He stated that he stepped outside and saw the accused, who asked if he could see the manager, to which he replied yes.

“I went back inside and had a conversation with the manager before returning outside to inform the man [Moore] that the manager will soon be with him. He told me that he wanted to see the manager right now, and if he can’t, he’s going to mash up the place and kill who he wanted to kill,” the witness stated.

The witness also stated that the accused attempted to enter the manager’s office, but that he blocked the entrance to prevent him from entering.

Moore then bit him on the left arm, he claimed, and he tried to stop him by pushing his hand away from his mouth. He also claimed that other co-workers intervened and assisted by pulling him away.

According to the witness, Moore was later handcuffed by the police, but he stressed that he had left the compound before Moore was taken away.

Moore was given the opportunity to offer his account of events and question the Transport Authority officer on the stand, and the officer denied practically everything Moore said.

The second witness, the arresting officer, testified that he was at the Transport Authority office when he saw Moore and notified him that a warrant had been issued for his arrest and that he needed to be taken back into custody.

“He then told me that he was not going to go back in custody and that I would have to kill him,” the officer added.

The officer stated that he gave the warrant to another police officer and informed the accused he was not there to kill him. He said that Moore insisted on not returning to custody, so he told him to go with the other officer.

The officer stated that he later heard a commotion and observed Moore’s hands swinging. He claimed that a desktop monitor slid off the desk and that he overheard Moore threatening to mash up the place.

The judge then sought clarity, asking the officer if he had witnessed Moore shove the monitor off the desk. The officer acknowledged that he had indeed witnessed this incident.

He said he then placed Moore into custody, pending the warrant about which he had been informed.

After hearing the testimonies, Smith-Ashley concluded that because there was such disparity between the versions, she would not be able to render a verdict beyond a reasonable doubt of guilt.

“The doubt is just too much because of the glaring differences in the testimonies… At this time I’m stopping the case and a not guilty verdict will be entered,” Smith-Ashley said.

Regarding the wounding charge, the court was informed that the case was ready for trial.

The judge then asked Moore whether he wanted the court to assign him an attorney, to which he replied that he could afford one but needed some time.

“I am going to give you two weeks to get a lawyer. If on that date you do not have one, I’ll assign one to represent you and set a trial date, and whatever happens on that date, the case is going to be tried,” the judge said before scheduling the case for mention on March 1. She extended Moore’s bail until then.

Moore was accused of damaging a Dell monitor, a desktop telephone, and a self-inking stamp on November 1, 2023, at the Transport Authority’s office.