‘It is not okay for a man to beat you,’ judge lectures woman

A St James parish court judge on Wednesday offered stern advice to a 21-year-old woman who is alleged to have been physically assaulted by the father of her child.

The defendant, Raymond Clarke, appeared before presiding Judge Kaysha Grant-Pryce, charged with unlawful wounding, assault at common law, and assaulting a female.

According to court records, the incident occurred on May 28.

Details of the allegations were not outlined but the court heard that Clarke assaulted the complainant and inflicted a wound over one of her eyes.

During the court proceedings the complainant stated that she was no longer interested in pursuing the case, and the prosecution offered no evidence against Stewart.

“It is not okay for a man to beat you; men are not supposed to beat their women,” Grant-Pryce told the complainant after she expressed her intention to drop the case.

“I’ve been sitting in this chair for 10 years now and I’ve seen women like you come and say they want to finish with it [the case], but then they go home and can’t come back because they are dead — they [babyfathers] beat them and killed them, ma’am,” the judge said.

The judge went on to describe a situation in which a woman from Cambridge appeared before her with a walking stick after being severely beaten by her child’s father to the point where water flowed from her knee.

“The next time we heard, she was in Cornwall Regional Hospital without an eye, broken all over, and badly beaten. It is not okay for a man to beat you,” Grant-Pryce stressed.

“I can’t even give you a scenario where it is okay. If a man beats you, it is because he his weak; something is wrong with him. He cannot go into a fight with another man so he takes on you. It’s not okay for a man to hit you,” the judge emphasised.

Addressing the defendant, the judge said, “Don’t come back here for this offence; you may not be this lucky. All of the offences for which you appear in court this morning you could have gone to prison for, and I am willing and able to send you there.”

Grant-Pryce then told Clarke that he was free to go before allowing him to exit the prisoner’s dock.

Murder case file complete, trial date to be set

The prosecution is yet to set a trial date for Mark Williams who reportedly shot another man to death outside his home two years ago.

Williams, who is charged with murder and shooting with intent in relation to the death of Lavin James, appeared before Justice Bertram Morrison in the St James Circuit Court on Friday.

The 24-year-old man is being represented by attorney-at-law Sherneika Jackson.

During Friday’s hearing the court was informed that the prosecution’s case file was complete and the case was adjourned until November 21 when a trial date will be set.

Williams was remanded in custody until that date.

The incident reportedly occurred at Timber Close in Irwin, St James, on July 2, 2022.

The allegations are that Williams fired shots at James outside his home, resulting in his death. Another person who was present at the scene was injured.

The police subsequently launched an investigation that led to Williams’ arrest.

Trial date set for man accused of Briton’s murder at guest house

A trial readiness hearing and trial date have been set for a Clarendon man charged in connection with the death of a British man who was shot at a guest house in Bogue Hill, St James, in January this year.

Jevaughn Brown of Baillieston, Clarendon, appeared before High Court judge Justice Bertram Morrison in the St James Circuit Court on Friday.

He is charged in relation to the death of Sean Patterson, a 33-year-old personal trainer from West London in Britain, who was visiting Jamaica.

Brown is represented by attorney-at-law Sherneika Jackson.

After the case was addressed, Justice Morrison postponed the proceedings until January 13, 2025, for a trial readiness hearing, and July 14, 2025 for the actual trial.

Brown was remanded in custody.

Allegations are that about 12:10 pm Patterson was at a guest house when a gunman approached him and shot him in the upper body.

The police were summoned and Patterson was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Brown was subsequently arrested during an operation in Kingston by members of the Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch (C-TOC).

The investigative file was submitted to the director of public prosecutions who ruled that Brown be charged with murder and using a prohibited weapon to commit murder.