A St. Lucian man living at Gibson Corner and a Vincentian living at Ottley Hall have been charged with attempted murder and firearm offences in relation to the shooting of a man near the Girls’ High School Bus Stop on Murray’s Road on Tuesday.
Keon Hackshaw, 17, of Ottley Hall, and Laurent Isidore, 26, of St. Lucia, appeared before Chief Magistrate Colin John at the Serious Offences Court, in Kingstown, on Thursday, where the charges were read to them.
The duo are jointly charged that on April 1, at Richmond Hill, with intent to commit the offence of murder on Michael Richards, of Diamond, they did an act which is more than merely preparatory to the commission of the offence.
Isidore was charged that he unlawfully discharged one Smith and Wesson MP40 Pistol, serial number MPE3621, at Michael Richards, of Diamond, and that he used the same firearm with intent to commit an offence to wit murder.
Hackshaw was charged that he used one Taurus G2c 9mm Pistol serial number unknown with intent to commit an offence to wit murder and that he did unlawfully discharge one Taurus G2c 9mm pistol, serial number unknown, at Michael Richards, of Diamond.
The men were not required to plead the indictable charges.
Prosecutor, Corporal of Police Delando Charles, objected to bail, saying that the Richards was still warded at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital.
He said the prosecution had been informed that Richards was not doing well, and it was unclear whether another charge would have to be laid next week.
He noted that the charges are bailable offences but said that the prosecution believes that if the men are granted bail, they could obstruct the investigation.
Charles asked that the men be remanded for two weeks.
The chief magistrate denied bail and remanded the men in custody until April 10 for bail review.
None of the accused were represented by a lawyer at the hearing.
Police Constable 1007 Kentish Pope is the lead investigator.
iWitness News understands that police are looking into a link between the attempt on Richards’ life and the death of a Diamond man who died after being shot recently.
Believe it or not, there is an urgent need to bring back the death penalty for murder in this country. Believe me, in 2025, Vincentians cannot allow the murder rate to get out of control like in previous years gone by. We should to try our hardest as Vincentians to prevent ourselves from murdering one another. You know what? I believe that our lawmakers and the court officials should take a look at the death penalty as a deterrent to murder. Believe it or not, while growing in this country, people used to say, that when we as a people become more educated, we will become more civilized. I know for sure, over last 24 years government in this country has built more schools and more people are holding more certificates or degrees from secondary schools and institutions of higher learning. But the question is, does by building more schools, and having more graduates in our households, make us more civilized and less murderous killers?
You know what? I think you guys should install an editor app for the comment section, thank you.
Look at the quality of the people who own and using these kind of weapons, this is what is very frightening, how and where do they get them ??
What if school was keeping and an innocent student, standing at the bus stop had accidentally got shot, and worse yet, killed? Or someone else standing there? Hmmmm! 😏 These criminals behave as foolish as ever, no proper thinking ability at all!
We should try our hardest as Vincentians to prevent ourselves from murdering one another. I believe our law makers and court officials should take a look at the death penalty as a deterrent to murder in our country.