Archive for July 28th, 2014
‘No case’ against Tomasa
(CNS): Justice Alex Henderson dismissed the case against David Tomasa in Grand Court Monday after submission by his lawyers Friday. Tomasa was standing trial with Brian Borden for the murder of Robert Macford Bush in September 2011 and the crown's case against him was that he supplied the ammunition for the shotgun and the handgun used in the murder. The evidence against him relied almost entirely on the testimony of Marlon Dillon and Justice Henderson said that even if Dillon's testimony was to be believed, the crown had not demonstrated that at the time of the transaction Tomasa knew what the ammunition was to be used for or that Borden intended to kill anyone.
The prosecution's case rested on the alleged confession about the murder told to Dillon while he was driving Borden home, while Tomasawas in the car. Dillon had told the court that as they passed the murder scene, Borden had pointed to the wall and said that that was where he and Keith Montague had "mashed up" Bush.
After they had dropped Borden home, according to Dillon's testimony, Tomasa had then told him that he had given the ammunition to Borden in a brown paper bag and was worried that he had not cleaned off the bullets and that the crime would lead back to him.
In his ruling, Justice Henderson noted that it was a reasonable inference that if Tomasa supplied the ammunition that it was used to kill Bush but for a murder conviction it must be proved that in aiding and abetting he was aware that the ammunition would be used to kill someone at that time, although knowledge of the identity of the victim was not required.
In Dillon's evidence, Tomasa did not say why he gave the ammunition to Borden or when this transaction took place.
Justice Henderson said there was no evidence that at the time of the transaction that Tomasa knew that Borden would use the bullets for any offence at all, only that he knew by the time of the conversation in the car that he knew it was used in the murder of Bush.
"There is no inference that David Tomas had the required state of knowledge of the crime," Henderson ruled as he discharged him of the indictment.
Hyman wins 100m heat, ready for semis
(CNS): Kemar Hyman streaked down the track, Sunday to win his heat in the men's 100m sprint and set himself up for this evenings semi-finals at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow at 7-30pm UK time. The sprinter will be running in lane 4 looking for a place in the final of what is always one of the most exciting events at international meets. Meanwhile, Brett Fraser missed the medal podium in the men's 50m butterfly final when he finished 5th, clocking 23:66, Friday evening. However, the 24 year old swimmer made it through his 50m freestyle heat today with a time of 22:29 11th overall, setting himself up for another shot at a medal.
He told Cayman's pool sports reporter, Matthew Yates that he was upbeat about his chances in the 50 meter freestyle and not too disappointed about the butterfly.
“It’s always nice to medal and be on the podium,” Fraser said. “But not medaling serves as motivation for me to continue to train that much harder and strive to be there at the next competition. I thought it went pretty well. Right now, I can’t really think of too many things that I did incorrectly. When I came into the warmups, we ran through the race, simulated it a few times and it went just as smoothly as we had practiced. I’m very happy with that swim.”
Although Geoffrey Butler was second in his 200m freestyle race with a personal best his time of 1:57.13 was not fast enough to qualify. Coming in 7th in his heat in a time of 16:14:39 for the 1500m freestyle Butler also failed to qualify in that event.
Speaking about Friday Butler noted he knocked over a second of his best time. “I went out strong and just tried to hold on tofinish the swim, it was good. My main event will be the one on Monday so we’ll see how that will go," he told Yates.
Ebanks, based out of Essex in England, also missed out on the semis due to his time which was still a lifetime best.
Lauren Hew, qualified for the 50m backstroke semis in a time of 30:55 and will have to give it all shes got this evening if she is to make it to the finals. Cayman’s youngest athlete had also made the reserve list for the 100m back semis, which she says was a great accomplishment.
“It was just a bit over my Personal Best,” Hew said. “I was pretty nervous but I think for my first race at such a big competition is pretty good. I was training at Loughborough University for a couple days and then I got into the village and started training in this pool. I’ve never been in such an amazing pool so it was really good to train here and I felt really good coming into the competition.
Chris Jackson will compete in day two of the trap qualifiers tomorrow at the Barry Buddon Shooting Center in Carnoustie. Jackson, 47, is the last of the team members to fire after Edison ‘Eddie’ McLean and Andrew Schirn got their shots in last week. Schirn, 18, and McLean, 44, both competed in the skeet event but were eliminated in the opening stages. Schirn says his first Games experience was positive.
“I’ve really enjoyed it so far and I hope to be back in four years,” Schirn who finished 18th said to the pool reporter. “At first, it was pretty nerve-racking having cameras videotaping me and having a crowd watching because I never had to do that before. But in the end, it didn’t affect me as much as I thought it would.”
McLean, at his fourth Commonwealth Games, got fourth place in the second round with a score of 48.
“The team was very happy to be at the shooting village in Dundee,” Kevin Schirn Andrew's father who coaches the shooting team said. “The shooters had days of training at the range and reacquainted with friends from previous Games. The organization of the Games was great and the team was pleased with the set-up of the training fields. Our accommodations were very comfortable and training went well.”
For full results and team Cayman's events visit http://results.glasgow2014.com/nations.htmlasgow
Corrupt cop bailed
(CNS): Elvis Ebanks, who was sentenced to three years in prison last week, has been released on bail pending his appeal. Ebanks was convicted of corruption offences in connection with a bribe he solicited while on duty as an RCIPS officer from a Filipino national in order not pursue a case against him over a possible stolen phone. He spent just one night in custody at George Town police station after his sentencing following a successful closed door bail application by his attorney, Laurence Aiolif of Stenning & Associates. The appeal against the conviction is scheduled for the November session and the former cop was bailed with an evening curfew and two $10,000 sureties until that hearing.
On Thursday, during the sentence hearing, Justice Charles Quin stated that Ebanks remained in denial about his crimes but his account that the bribe was just a loan was "entirely implausible". The judge pointed out that the ex-police officer could have obtained a loan from a local bank or the civil service Credit Union on far more favourable terms than the ones he claimed he had arranged with the defendant.
Seeing no evidence of remorse and considering Ebanks to be the primary motivator of the bribe, it was more serious than the circumstances of a police officer accepting a bribe offered to him. Although the money involved was not a significant amount, as it came to around $600, the judge pointed out that it was a "substantial portion" of the victim's monthly earnings.
Despite Ebanks' previous good character, his references and the impact of his crimes on his family and career, the judge said it was difficult to find any mitigating factors in the case, and given his position of trust as an officer, the abuse of that trust called for a custodial sentence.
The judge commended Elmer (Les) Ferraris for his bravery in coming forward and reporting what had happened, despite being terrified and believing that the police were going to press on with the case against him for stealing the phone, which, Ebanks had told him, would result in Ferraris being jailed for up to ten years, even though the owner of the phone had no intentions of pursuing a complaint against Ferraris, having had it returned to him.
Justice Quin said that Ebanks' conduct had not only undermined the reputation RCIPS but also the country and the courts would not tolerate corruption, as he handed down the three year prison term and also ordered Ebanks to make a compensation order for the cash he took from his victim.