BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE three men that were on trial for a Halfway Tree robbery and assault were all found guilty of their crimes yesterday, October 27, unanimously, by a 12-member jury.
Exzavier Elliott of St. Peters, along with Jervain Rawlins and Phillip Jones both of Tabernacle, will now await their fate at Her Majesty’s Prison as they are expected to be sentenced in two weeks.
According to reports the jury took less than one hour to deliberate the case that lasted for almost seven days.
Yesterday’s events perhaps gave the jury a clearer picture of what occurred on July 5, 2010, after His Lordship Justice Errol Thomas granted the application for “Locus in quo” which is the visiting of a crime scene by the Court.
The three men, allegedly armed with a firearm, robbed Tamar Southwell a driver of O.D. Brisbane (ODB), and Michael Arthurton, a porter of ODB. The three men were also charged with one count of assault with intent to rob Jeneve Evans, also in Half Way Tree.
According to the evidence presented in court, Southwell was robbed while he was on his delivery route, of EC$2,235.55, which he had collected on behalf of ODB, and of EC$90 of his own money. Michael Arthurton was robbed of EC$10.
Elliott, Rawlins and Jones were arrested in connection with the robbery and ‘assault with intent to rob’ charges and pleaded not guilty to all charges at their arraignment.
The three accused are also unrepresented by counsel while Rhonda Nisbett-Browne was the lead prosecutor in the matter.
The trial began last week Oct. 21, and it was revealed that the incident occurred sometime around 1:00 p.m. when the ODB Fruta Truck which sells various items including beverages made a stop at Lionel Rogers’ shop in Halfway Tree.
Two of the accused, who were said to be wearing masks, allegedly entered the shop and robbed Southwell and Arthurton, while the other stood on the outside keeping watch, and all assaulted Evans before making their getaway.
After the robbery, the three men were said to have left the scene headed in the direction of Basseterre.
Rogers said that he peered through a window in his home and saw who he thought were the accused leaving in a white rental vehicle but was unable to state the license plate or identify the persons.
The prosecution called a total of 11 witnesses to support their case.
The first scene that was visited yesterday was Roger’s shop in Half Way Tree, where the shopkeeper pointed out in the shop where he saw the robbers and also where the victims were standing.
Southwell, Arthurton and Evans also gave evidence of where they were positioned in the shop when the robbers entered.
According to Police Officer Denroy Pope and Sergeant John Bergan they were coming from the Old Road police station when a white rental passed them on the island’s main road.
Pope and Bergan pointed out the section in the road where the rental passed them, which is near the road leading to the Tyrell Williams primary school.
Evidence was given that the police turned around and began following the car in a chase, however, the police lost sight of the car and decided to turn back when they reached Boyds.
On their way back they noticed skid marks in the road near Franklands by the home of Consie Mitchum.
They decided to drive up a dirt road near the home and came to a stop at a specific area which was extremely bushy and then observed that there was some bush that was somewhat flattened.
They decided to drive through the bush and found the accused and the white rental, R305.
The police officers had stated in court that upon arrival they apprehended the accused there.
However, the accused had a different story.
According to Phillip Jones, they were on their way from the Basseterre area in a rental car he rented from his neighbor Rupert Phipps and that when he reached the vicinity near Franklands, he heard a sound and realized he received a flat.
He said he decided to drive up the dirt track near Mithcum’s home to be out of the way and wait for his father, whom he said he had called.
He pointed out a different area from the police where he claimed the car was with a flat.
Jones also claimed that the car was tinted and said to his Lordship that the car should have been brought into evidence to prove that it had a flat tire and that it was tinted.
His Lordship told him that the car was never brought into evidence by the police, so it cannot be brought into the matter.
Police officer Shamika Williams also pointed out the area where she and another officer along with police dogs found clothing items in Franklands.
Williams was also given two pieces of card boards with duct tape attached to them both and had P4638 written on them.
The specific visit of the scene at Franklands seemingly gave the court a clearer insight and erased many doubts left in the accused defense including the pertinent questions e.g. “If they had a flat tire why would they drive off the road and up a mini hill?” and also “Would a car be able to make it up a mini hill with a flat tire?”
The maximum fine for robbery is 20 years in prison.
