KINGSTOWN, St Vincent (CMC) – A High Court judge in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) has sentenced a 56-year-old fisherman to 10 years in jail after he was found guilty of causing the death of his friend, Cameron Alexander, a security guard, whom he struck in the head with a rum bottle in August 2023.

SVG Justice Rickie Burnett imposed the sentence on Joel Ashton also called ‘Goat’, deducting  the period the convicted man had spent on remand awaiting trial.

The court heard that between August 26 and September 1, 2023, at Lowmans Bay, a coastal community and bay located on the leeward side of St Vincent, Ashton caused Alexander’s death by an unlawful act.

Justice Burnett noted that at the time of his death, Alexander was a 42-year-old security guard and the father of two children.

Alexander and Ashton were friends and were out with other friends when Alexander and another man pooled their funds to purchase a pint of rum.

Sometime later, a physical altercation ensued after Alexander reportedly removed a small bottle of rum from Ashton’s pocket.

In response, Ashton struck Alexander on the left side of his head with a glass rum bottle, causing the bottle to shatter.

A witness told the court that Alexander did not react to Ashton’s actions but simply asked, “Just so?”

The witness said he also saw Alexander holding his head in a slanted way and saw blood running from his ear. Alexander then went into the sea nearby and returned to the shop, where he observed blood on his neck.

But by August 28, 2023, Alexander’s condition had deteriorated significantly and he was discovered by one of his sons unresponsive, frothing at the mouth and bleeding. He was taken to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital and admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.

Alexander died at the hospital on Wednesday, August 30, 2023.

Pathologist Dr Ronald Child said Alexander died from blunt force trauma to the head.