December 25, 2024
Ocho Rios, St. Ann. Jamaica
LATEST NEWS THE COURTS

Man charged in stabbing murder can’t reside with grandmother

the court

A plea from the attorney of an alleged killer to have his bail condition varied to reside with his grandmother has been rejected.

The basis of the rejection was the closeness of where the murder took place in Highgate, St Mary to where the accused man’s grandmother lived in Harmony Hall, also in the parish.

These developments occurred when the accused man, Jahvoy Johnson appeared before the St Mary Parish Court on Thursday, January 12.

Johnson was charged in connection with the June 17, 2016 murder of Shamar Smith, otherwise called ‘Denver’, of Capture Land, Highgate, St Mary.

Reports from the Highgate Police are that about 12:30 p.m., Smith was involved in an altercation with Johnson, when a knife was used to stab him. The police were summoned and Smith was assisted to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

When the matter appeared before the court, the scene of crime report was made available on the case file. The post-mortem report was still outstanding and the matter was set for March 2 to be mentioned.

However, Johnson’s attorney asked that his client’s bail be varied so that he could live with his grandmother in Harmony Hall in the parish.

As a condition of his bail, Johnson was to reside in the community of Islington and report to the Islington police station.

Johnson’s attorney had told acting senior parish judge Yvette Wentworth-Miller that his client was finding it difficult to reside in Islington. However, the prosecution objected as they noted that Harmony Hall was in close proximity to Highgate, where the murder occurred.

Judge Wentworth-Miller later rejected the application to have Johnson reside with his grandmother.