A Mt Grennan man has been bonded for a year and ordered to pay EC$1,400 in compensation for smashing the windshield of a car in Owia.
Edwin Weston and others were involved in throwing at a shop, in Owia when the damage occurred.
He appeared before Magistrate Bertie Pompey at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court recently and pleaded guilty to the charge of damage to property.
The virtual complainant, Anthony Richardson, of Owia, told the court that on June 25, at about 8:45 p.m., he went to “Bottom Town” in Owia to visit his daughter and her mother.
He said he parked his car, a white Nissan Skyline, registration number P4650, at the side of the road, in an area with a streetlight and walked about 50 feet to his destination.
“When I arrived at the house, I heard bottles breaking and saw Weston pelting bottles towards my car. I saw people running. I saw him by the road, he took a block, throw it towards the car and smashed the top right corner of the windshield.”
Richardson said that after the pelting stopped, he examined the vehicle and reported the matter to the police.
Weston did not cross-examine Richardson, Rosanna Blugh — the mother of Richardson’s daughter, a witness who collaborated Richardson’s account nor the arresting officer PC King.
In his defence, Weston told the court he was standing at the side of the road, when a group of people at the shop pelted a bottle at him and he pelted back at them.
“I normally go to Owia to see my son and chill by my friend Gary Clarke. I was drinking a bottle of beer and I never hit nobody vehicle and I never took up no stone to blast after nobody,” Weston told the court.
The defendant said he ducked behind two vehicles and pulled a crate to avoid getting hit. He also said he was injured during the fracas and had to receive medical care at the hospital.
During cross examination by Prosecutor Corporal 817 Stapleton, Weston said he saw the car that night, he was not close to it and he didn’t hit the windshield of the car.
He said was pelting stones and not bottles.
The magistrate found the defendant guilty.
“The virtual complainant gave his evidence implicating you, and you never asked them any question. So it’s reasonable to infer you accepted their story as truth,” Pompey said.
He ordered Weston to keep the peace for one year. If he breaches the bond, he must pay EC$800 forthwith or spend three months in prison.
Further, he was also ordered to compensate Richardson in the sum of EC$1,400 in one month or spend four months in prison.