Wendell Cadogan, charged with threatening to kill his cousin, yesterday told a shocked courtroom that he only took up a cutlass to defend himself because they were fighting over a drug deal and he thought the man was going to try to shoot him.
Cadogan, of Lot 63 Hunter Street, Albouys-town, is alleged to have armed himself with the weapon and threatened to kill his cousin, Lawrence Wilkinson, following a heated dispute over money, Prosecutor Bharat Mangru informed the court.
But in a revelation that shocked the court, the 39-year-old explained, “My cousin and I live in the same yard. He deals with narcotics and I would bring people to buy drugs from him and I would get a lil tip. On the day, I brought somebody to buy a portion from him and after they left he said I have nothing to get and I could do what I want to do.”
Cadogan said a heated argument then ensued and he was prompted to reach for the cutlass when Wilkinson ran up the stairs in a fury because he thought he went for a “pipe,” which he revealed is a descriptor for a gun.
“He was found with guns and ammunition before on the East Coast and he always get a gun in his house, so when I saw him run upstairs I said to myself, ‘I gon dead.’ So, I went for the cutlass,” Cadogan continued.
After recording a not guilty plea, Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry asked Prosecutor Mangru to take note of the information related by Cadogan.
The prosecutor responded that he had taken note. He offered no objection to bail and Cadogan was released on self-bail. The case was adjourned until July 15.
