Dog handler Leon Thomas was on Friday charged with assault at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, which heard that he hit a fellow passenger in a minibus while jumping through a window.
Thomas was granted bail in the sum of $5,000 by acting Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry, after he denied assaulting Stacy Reid.
In presenting the facts of the case, the prosecutor told the court that on January 13, at around 17:00 hrs, Thomas and Reid, who were travelling in the same bus, headed to Guyhoc Park. Thomas made a request to stop at Norton Street but got angry when the bus driver changed routes. Thomas then proceeded to jump through the window and in doing so kicked Reid, the court heard. Reid later made a report at Brickdam Police Station and Thomas was arrested.
Thomas, who initially pleaded guilty with an explanation, told the court that Reid sat in the conductor’s seat, since the conductor was absent. He sat beside her. He said that the bus stopped and as he tried to open the door, Reid stopped him. Admitting that he may have hit Reid in his struggle to get out of the vehicle, Thomas said, “I probably hit her while trying to open the door… It was an accident.”
The man said that he apologised to Reid but she did not accept. She instead asked for compensation in the amount of $40,000, which he could not afford.
Sewnarine-Beharry entered a not guilty plea for Thomas, granted him bail and transferred the case to Court Two for January 17.