After failing to appear at his nine previous hearings, Samuel Hinds Jnr yesterday presented himself before city magistrate Geeta Chandan-Edmond, who found him guilty of beating and threatening his sister-in-law.
After the magistrate announced the judgment, Hinds Jnr’s attorney, Peter Hugh, asked for a fine to be imposed rather than a custodial sentence. Magistrate Chandan-Edmond subsequently ordered a probation report to be prepared and deferred sentencing until February 20.
Hinds Jnr, 33, of Lot 83 Duke Street, Kingston, was charged with beating Tenza lane with a cane and threatening her with a gun on February 27, 2014. Lane is the sister of Hinds Jnr’s current common-law partner.
It was alleged that Hinds Jnr had also called Lane a thief, threw her to the ground, stomped her in the face and dragged her by her hair around his house. The man had denied the charge at his arraignment at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
Lane was also charged with assaulting the man but she was cleared after a trial.
Hinds Jnr’s trial ended on May 23 last year, after he gave a sworn statement from the witness box. He had been called to lead a defence after the court had ruled that a prima facie case had been made out against him. He called no other witnesses in his defence.
A ruling had been due since July last year but Hinds Jnr was been absent on all the subsequent dates set for continuance. His attorneys reported on a number occasions that he was either out of the jurisdiction or ill.
