Matthew, Bass guilty of murder
…sentencing set for September 26
By Terresa McCall
Reporter-SKNVibes.com
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Lumumba Matthew and Justin Bass were convicted of the murder of Darren Berry and the attempted murder of Dion Berry. They are slated to be sentenced in late September 2008.
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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – ST. PETERS residents Lumumba Matthew and Justin Bass were last evening convicted of the murder of 18-year-old Darren Berry and the attempted murder of his brother, Dion Berry.
Yesterday morning, after the final defence witness was called, defence lawyers for the accused as well as the prosecution team presented their closing arguments following which the presiding judge, His Lordship Justice Francis Belle delivered a summation of the evidence presented in the case.
At approximately 5:45 p.m., the jury retired for deliberations and just about two hours later it emerged and informed the court that a unanimous decision was reached.
The number one accused in the case, Lumumba Matthew, was convicted of committing the January 12, 2007 murder of Darren Berry as well as Dion Berry’s attempted murder which occurred on the said day.
The jury also informed that it had found the number two accused in case, Justin Bass, guilty of the said offences. ~~Adz:Right~~
During the trial, which began last Tuesday, the jury listened to a number of witnesses including Dion Berry who explained that on the day in question he and his brother were travelling in a black jeep towards Bayford’s via St. Peters en route to their farm. While doing so, the two accused opened fire on them. Both brothers were struck by bullets, but Darren did not survive while Dion was taken to the Joseph N. France General Hospital where he was treated for gunshot wounds to the arms.
However, defence witness Grayson Fergus, while under oath, told the court that between the hours of 11:00 in the morning and 7:00 in the evening, he and Bass were together and they never journeyed to the Bayford’s area. The offence is said to have taken place sometime between 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
After conviction, psychiatric evaluations and social reports were requested by the court for both Matthew and Bass. These reports are to be presented before September 25, 2008; the scheduled date for sentencing.
