Local cricketer Carlyle Barton was yesterday charged with the murder of D’Urban Street resident Shawn Nelson, who was shot at Orange Walk on Sunday.
A calm-looking Barton, 23, of Lot 39 Hadfield Street, was arraigned at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court yesterday afternoon and remanded to prison after the particulars of the murder charge were read to him by Magistrate Sueanna Lovell.
Barton was not required to plead to the capital charge.
His lawyer, Mark Waldron, told the court that he has been advised that the investigation has been completed, including the collection of all the statements in the matter. He said that in addition to this, police had gotten advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). As a result, he requested the earliest possible date for the start of the preliminary inquiry into the murder charge.
The prosecutor, however, indicated to the court that the investigation was not “fully completed” and as a result the next hearing was fixed for next Friday in Court One.
Nelson, 39, was shot in the head around 6:30 am on Sunday by a man who relatives had described as a close family friend. The bullet caused so much damage that doctors said there was a very slim chance of his survival. He died in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Georgetown Hospital the following day.
Police officials say that they are in possession of surveillance footage that captured the shooting.
The DPP had advised that the police charge Barton, who had turned himself over to police sometime on Sunday afternoon. Barton’s arraignment was delayed yesterday morning after the DPP Shalimar Ali-Hack asked for the file to be returned to her office. That was done and the file was handed back to the ranks, who were waiting.
Barton was charged but was brought to court sometime after 1 pm. Prior to his arrival at the court building, scores of Barton’s family members and friends flocked the small courtroom, which only had two benches for members of the public and one for the prisoners. They became agitated after many could not find seating and some were forced to stand at the back of the courtroom. However, silence blanketed the room as the calm-looking Barton, dressed in off-white pants and a grey shirt, walked in.
After the hearing had concluded, he remained in the courtroom for a few minutes to speak with close family members. As he was walking from the courtroom to the lock-ups, relatives were seen fixing a rag on his head to conceal his face from the cameras of members of the media. The crowd remained outside the courtroom until he was whisked away to the Camp Street Prison.
