Two Life Sentences Handed Down

Nicholas Swazo

In court news, for the second time in one week, two men who had been convicted of murder in separate trials have been handed down sentences of life imprisonment. Southern District session Judge, Justice Antoinette Moore, sentenced Nicholas Swazo to life behind bars for the April sixteenth, 2016 shooting murder of gang figure Gerald “Shiny” Tillett. Tillett was gunned down at the Wadani Recreational Centre in Dangriga. Swazo was found guilty in 2021 in a trial without a jury. The life sentence took effect on Wednesday. Swaso will be eligible for parole in thirty years. Swazo was defended by Attorney Oscar Selgado, while Senior Crown Counsel Javier Chan prosecuted.

Christopher Bradley

In a separate matter last week, Justice Moore also sentenced Christopher Bradley to life imprisonment after he was convicted of the murder of sixty-eight year-old Martha Gonzales, a vendor of Pomona Village, Stann Creek. Her body was later found in a latrine behind Bradley’s house. Bradley will be eligible for parole after he has served twenty-eight years behind bars.  Bradley was convicted in September 2021 and was given time to present his mitigation plea before he was sentenced. That case was presented by Crown Counsel, Riis Cattouse, and Bradley was represented by Attorney, Oswald Twist.