A St Mary man on a murder charge for over a year has finally been offered bail in the case.
The bail was granted on Thursday, January 26, after it was realized that the case was not ready for a committal, as some of the statements were not properly certified.
Antonio Nelson is charged in relation to the murder of 35-year-old Seymour Cousins, alias Mitzpah, a businessman of Warner Street, Port Maria, St. Mary.
In addition, bail was offered, because in the statements of three witnesses, none of them had seen the accused man, Nelson, kill Cousins. The forensics also helped Nelson to get bail.
However, the case against Antonio Nelson has not been dismissed as the crown has another opportunity to ensure the statements in the matter are properly certified.
Reports from the police were that at about 7:35 p.m., on Sunday, October 18, 2015, residents heard loud explosions and summoned the police. On their arrival, Cousins was seen in a pool of blood. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The committal proceeding hearing into the matter had begun on Thursday, January 19 and was to continue on Thursday, January 26. However, the prosecution was given more time to have the statements properly certified.
With this development, acting parish judge Yvette Wentworth-Miller decided to grant Nelson bail.
According to Nelson’s attorney, Christopher Hibbert, there were two main factors that attributed to Nelson being granted bail.
Hibbert said that in the statements of three of the witnesses, none of them indicated that they saw Nelson with a gun or that he killed Seymour Cousins.
Hibbert said that the statements indicate that his client, Nelson and Cousins were arguing behind a wall.
Gunshots were later heard and Nelson left from behind the wall and called a policeman, who was in the town of Highgate, to the scene.
In addition, Hibbert indicated that Nelson’s hands were swabbed for gunshot residue and the test results were negative. This meant that there was no gunshot residue on Nelson’s hand.
Nelson was offered bail by Judge Wentworth-Miller in the sum of $400,000 with one surety.
He is also to reside in the parish of St Ann.
The case will be placed on the committal proceedings mention list, when it is to be brought before the court on March 2.
Nelson had been held in custody for over a year and was never considered for bail because he had committed an offence prior to the murder incident.
Nelson had been charged for illegal possession of firearm and assault and had been granted bail. It was while on bail that Nelson had been charged in relation to the murder of Seymour Cousins.
However, Nelson was found not guilty in the St Mary Circuit Court on Wednesday, November 30, 2016 on the gun and assault charge.
The complainant had said that the statement he had given to the police was of the effect of not being “entirely true”, and this led to a not guilty verdict.
