How did local cricketer Carlyle Barton go free after he was caught on camera fatally shooting a man?
This is the question being asked by the family of Shawn Nelson, who died a day after sustaining the gunshot wound to the head.
The murder charge instituted against Barton, 23, of Lot 39 Hadfield Street, was discharged on Tuesday at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, where Magistrate Fabayo Azore reported that insufficient evidence was offered by the prosecution during the preliminary inquiry into the charge and as a result a prima facie case could not be made out.
Members of Nelson’s family yesterday said they were upset and saddened at the way the case ended and blamed the police who failed to attend court to tender key evidence.
Efforts yesterday to make contact with Crime Chief Seelall Persaud and Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell about the case were futile. Though it is being heavily criticised about the outcome of the case, the force is yet to issue a statement or indicate what its next move will be.
Persons close to the case have told this newspaper that it is clear that something went wrong. They said that as such the first course of action is to have an investigation into the conduct of the ranks involved and to discipline them. The source said it was amazing that the accused walked free given the evidence that the police had.
It was pointed out too that this is another blow to the police force’s image as the public would now have even less confidence in it.
At Nelson’s D’Urban Street home yesterday, his family remained in shock and called for justice.
“We saw this coming because all along you seeing cracks in the case and certain evidence that everyone know should have been brought to court wasn’t brought to court,” said a relative, who asked not to be identified.
The evidence he was referring to was a video recording from a shop nearby showing Barton walking south along Orange Walk and Nelson heading north on the morning of May 26, when the shooting occurred. As the two approached a parked car, the footage showed Barton pulling out a gun, aiming it at Nelson and then pulling the trigger. He then calmly opens the driver’s side door of the car, jumps in and drives off, the front wheel of the vehicle barely missing Nelson’s head. At that point Nelson was still alive and his body was shaking from the shock of being shot.
Nelson’s relative said there were about 12 witnesses down to testify at the preliminary inquiry, with at least half of them being policemen. He said the investigating rank who was one of the key witnesses in the case had given evidence but never returned to tender the video recording as evidence. He had explained to the court that it was locked in the station cupboard and that it was the officer-in-charge who had the key and when he left the station that person had not yet arrived.
The relative recalled that the investigating rank had testified about the footage and its contents. He said that particular rank had to return to court but on each occasion that his name was called, the court was told that he was at another location.
He said that the family attended court on every occasion and he could recall that an arrest warrant was issued for one of the ranks but he could not remember which one. “There was so many police officers that were not coming to the case,” he said.
Nelson’s family believes that there was other evidence that the police could have worked with. A relative explained that Barton was never charged with dangerous driving for hitting out two lantern posts while fleeing, in the process leaving one section of the city in darkness. After crashing the second time, he had abandoned the vehicle. The relative pointed out that he was not even charged in relation to fleeing from the scene of a crime.
During the announcement of the decision to discharge Barton, Nelson’s relative said the magistrate mentioned that the ranks were not coming to court.
“The prosecutor did not say a word for the day,” the man said, while adding that he believes that the family was being unfairly treated.
“It was unprofessional work by the police and injustice because we all know what transpired,” he noted, while pointing out that Barton was seen on camera committing the murder and he was still allowed to walk free.
“We are not happy with how it was handled. The whole world is not happy…We are just looking for the way forward now,” the man said, while adding that the family will be seeking out the relevant authorities to see what their options are and what assistance they could get.
