Faulty police work cause a man to go free

In the Supreme Court today, twenty-four year old Bejohn Martinez, charged with Attempted Murder and Attempted Robbery, was freed of the charges but will remain behind bars for other charges. The trial concluded when Justice Adolph Lucas ruled that the evidence of identification was insufficient and directed the jury of five men and four women to find him not guilty. Lucas said that the photo identification by the complainant, Silas Molina, should have been followed by an I.D. parade. Lucas also pointed out that Molina saw the accused for only two minutes when he was supposedly pointing a gun at him. Justice Lucas gave the directive after Crown Counsel Trienia Young closed the case for the prosecution. The shooting incident left Molina a paraplegic, and he testified yesterday from his wheelchair. He said that around six a.m. on August second, 2007, he was riding his cart home from buying fruits and vegetables from Queen’s Square Market and while on Dolphin Street, he looked back and saw two men riding on one bicycle. Martinez was allegedly pedaling and an unidentified man was on handle bar. The man on the handle jumped off and Martinez told Molina to hand over everything. But Molina says he did not stop and when the accused rode in front of his cart, he knocked him off his bicycle. Martinez, reportedly got up and held Molina at gunpoint while he searched his pockets. According to Molina, he grabbed the hand with the gun and during a struggle, the weapon went off, hitting him on the right side of his chest. Martinez was not represented by an attorney and while he was acquitted of the charges, he is not free because he is currently remanded on several charges of robbery for which trial is pending in the Magistrate’s court.