BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – LENNY LIDDIE and Gavin Boddie who were charged for allegedly robbing a Douglas Estate man of EC$56, were acquitted today (Mar. 24) after a 12-member jury returned a unanimous not guilty verdict.
Liddie and Boddie, both in their 20’s, were charged with robbing 25-year-old Adolphus ‘Imbram’ Edinborough of the money on July 4, 2009 during his attendance at a concert held at Warner Park.
According to evidence presented in court before His Lordship Justice Errol Thomas, Edinborough met the two accused in Warner Park where Liddie held on to him and Boddie put his hand into his pocket and took out EC$56.
The Douglas Estate man also said in his testimony that he had positively identified Boddie because he had known him for nine years, and they were not friends, but he did not know Liddie.
During cross-examination, the self-represented Liddie told Edinborough that he was lying about the incident.
Directing his question to the virtual complainant (VC), Liddie said, “Didn’t I hold you and tell you to go on your journey and I don’t want any fight cross here?” And in response, Edinborough said that the two accused had held on to him.
Liddie then asked him if he was not fighting with Boddie, to which Edinborough replied that he would be foolish to fight two persons on his own.
“Didn’t I talk to you and tell you that it didn’t make any sense to fight there over any money?” Liddie asked Edinborough to which he responded in the negative.
Senior Counsel Hesketh Benjamin, who represented Boddie, asked Edinborough if his client had ever given him EC$20 to buy breakfast and paid him $5, but he failed to return with the money or the breakfast.
Benjamin also suggested to the VC that Boddie had met him at the concert and confronted him about the money, and Edinborough denied both allegations.
Edinborough told the court he had reported the matter to Defence Force member Leroy Huggins and Police Officer Stuart Henry, who was the investigating officer in the matter. Both of them gave evidence on behalf of the prosecutor at the trial which began on Wednesday (Mar. 23).
However, after the prosecutor, defence counsel and Liddie presented their closing arguments, Justice Thomas gave his summation and directions to the 12-member jury which retired and shortly after returned a unanimous not guilty verdict.
