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Provocation of spirit sends man to jail
A welder was yesterday sentenced to jail, after he was brought before the courts for assaulting his friend whom he complained would provoke his spirit on a regular basis.
Jailed: Raphael Burnett
Twenty-eight-year-old Raphael Burnett, of Lot 25 North Sophia, Greater Georgetown, appeared in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Principal Magistrate Faith McGusty who read the charge to him.
The charge stated that on June 25, 2019, at North Sophia, Greater Georgetown, he assaulted Rene Somerset in order to cause him actual bodily harm.
The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge and offered to give an explanation to the court for his actions.
“Over a period of time this man has been provoking my spirit; he always troubling me and saying things about me. Every time he sees me he would throw hints at me.”
He added, “The day I cut him I had a shaving blade in my hand which I was using to cut my beard and he had a spade, and after he started troubling me we got into a fight and I managed to get the upper hand at him and cut him.”
Principal Magistrate McGusty then said that she found his explanation hard to believe, given that it sounded like someone having a gun and the other person having a knife, but the person with the knife managed to win.
Police prosecutor Annalisa Brummell then stated the facts of the charge. The prosecutor first highlighted that the defendant and virtual complainant are close friends.
On the day in question the virtual complainant was at work, which is located in North Sophia. The defendant passed the location and started to throw disrespectful hints at Somerset.
The victim answered the defendant with disrespectful hints of his own. This annoyed Burnett who later left the premises and headed home.
The defendant subsequently returned with a shaving blade in his hands. He then asked Somerset if he was speaking to him and the victim replied in the negative.
However, the defendant then took the shaving blade and cut the virtual complainant on the right side of his back when Somerset turned to walk away.
Somerset made his way to the police station and made a report and Burnett was later arrested and charged for the offence.
Prosecutor Brummell then stated that it is clear that the defendant could have made a report to the station after Somerset uttered words to him that he didn’t like, but he had other intentions and took the matter into his own hands.
After listening to the facts presented by the prosecutor and the defendant’s explanation, Principal Magistrate McGusty sentenced the defendant to six months imprisonment.
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