Samuel Hinds Jr was yesterday sentenced to two months in jail for wounding his sister-in-law but he was released on $50,000 bail after his lawyer indicated that he would be appealing.
Hinds Jr, who was found guilty of threatening and wounding Tenza Layne, was yesterday fined $10,000 for threatening behaviour and sentenced to two months in prison for unlawful wounding by city magistrate Annette Singh.
Magistrate Singh proceeded with sentencing Hinds Jr following a protracted legal tussle over whether she could, having been assigned the case after the removal of the trial magistrate, Geeta Chandan-Edmond, who had found the man guilty of the crimes.
Hinds Jr, son of former Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, had moved to the High Court to stay all further prosecution but Justice Navindra Singh ruled last week that there was no legal barrier preventing the magistrate from sentencing him.
When asked to provide the short facts of the matter yesterday, the prosecution told the court that on February 27th, 2014, Hinds Jr accused Layne of stealing his cellphone and demanded that the woman leave the house.
This, she said, resulted in an exchange of words between the two parties, which quickly escalated to Hinds Jr grabbing Layne, pushing her to the ground and stomping her in the face. The prosecutor went on to state that the accused pulled Layne by her hair from the living room to the kitchen, where he drew a gun on her.
Attorney Peter Hugh, who defended Hinds Jr, questioned the facts presented by the prosecution, while stating that Layne can be described as “slight” and that had his client in fact stomped her in the face, she “may have had to have facial reconstructive surgery.”
Hugh encouraged the court to consider the probation report presented on his client, as well as the fact that it was the defendant’s first brush with the law.
The attorney further stated that the Hinds Jr practically took Layne in from off of the streets and claimed that the woman had a history of incidents where things went missing and she had even pleaded guilty to a simple larceny charge.
“This is a case where no good deed goes unpunished,” Hugh told the court.
Before sentencing, Magistrate Singh explained that she had taken into account that the injuries presented in the medical certificate before the court were not consistent with the facts presented; that it was Hinds Jr’s first offence; that the probation report showed that he had no anger issues; that he should have known the consequences of his actions; that he had offered help to Layne; and the fact that this type of matter usually comes with a sentence of 18 months in prison.
The magistrate then fined and sentenced Hinds Jr for the crimes. Afterward, Hugh said he would be filing an appeal against the conviction and sentences and he asked that bail be granted until its determination. Magistrate Singh accepted the bail request and Hinds Jr. was placed on $50,000 bail pending the appeal, which will be handled by the High Court.
