(By Ernesto Cooke) – Kingstown -St Vincent -Today June 13th, marks two months since Cornelius John was shot in the leg at his home in Diamond.
Two months since John alleges that Government Senator Ashelle Morgan threatened to shot him in the mouth.
Two months since there has been no official release from the police to the media indicating that the alleged incident took place.
Two months on – no arrest or charges have been made.
Cornelius John told News784 on April 28th that he was maltreated and shot on his property by whom he could only describe by their actions as gangsters.
On the afternoon of April 13th, he said that he was sitting on a block in his unfinished porch when three persons, one woman and two men dressed in jeans, t-shirts, and masks and caps, entered his property without prior warning.
He said the taller of the men walked up to him and began kicking him in the stomach, which caused him to defecate on himself.
“While I was lying in pain on the ground, he pulls out his gun, cranked it, and told me; you want to kill the senator, you want to kill the senator?” and he proceeded to hold down my left foot and shoot me in it.”
The 62-year Hypertensive told News784 that the woman who entered his property along with the other two men pointed a gun to his face and told him if he called her name in any conversation, she would shoot him in the mouth. He identified the woman as Government Senator and Deputy Speaker of the House of Parliament, Ashelle Morgan.
When pressed by News784 as to how he knew it was Senator Morgan, John replied. ‘It was not hard to identify her.’
Senator Ashelle Morgan and Assistant DPP Karim Nelson are persons of interest in the investigation, police have not publicly identified the third individual.
Hell-Bent On Arresting And Charging My Client Says, Lawyer
Two months after Diamond resident Cornelius John was beaten and shot on his private property, by whom he described as gangsters and thugs, the hypothesis that a cutlass was involved has now arisen.
Bacchus Baptiste, the lawyer for Cornelius John said, it appears that the latest twist is concocted.
“I’m telling you from my perspective, it seems concocted; it seems that they never intended to investigate this matter. But the public and right-thinking Vincentians have placed so much pressure on them that they come now with the story of a cutlass”.
“If there were a cutlass, that is the first thing you would ask Mr. John when he gave a statement over seven weeks ago; that’s the first thing you would ask him. You do not wait seven weeks to come and ask; the same thing transpired with the witnesses”.
“You would ask was there a cutlass because I know eyewitness were interviewed maybe four to five weeks after the incident; you mean to tell me, you did not know about the cutlass then, When you were interviewing the witnesses.”
When asked if the investigation is over as was reported, Bacchus said, “if they are now coming to look for a cutlass, well, I guess not.”
“I was there when they were taking measurements of various things, things that you do at the start of an investigation.”
Bacchus Baptiste said she is being told that the assailants made a report against her client.
“How in God’s name, a Commissioner of Police and the Director of Prosecutions will wait eight weeks to tell this man that he is being accused of, and up to now, they have not said what he is accused of”.
“They are hell-bent on arresting and charging my client,” Bacchus Baptiste said.
Lawyer Says She Has Information On The Third Person
When lawyer Kay Bacchus Baptiste was asked if she knows who the third person is, she said, I do.
“I believe I do. He’s a driver, not a policeman, he is a driver, he drives for someone”.
“Am still not going to release a name yet; it is the responsibility of the Police Commissioner.”
“In our courts here, the Attorney General and the Commissioner of Police are charged with revealing the name of persons they are investigating in a situation like this. So in something like this, where you are saying that this man is accused, he was part and parcel of a party that is accusing my client of assaulting him, and I’m trying to find out the name, and they have not revealed it yet, come on”.
When asked how soon the public should know who the third person is, Bacchus Baptiste said;
“There is no deadline; however, there should be a reasonable time for such.”
It’s Joint Enterprise”: Lawyer
Lawyer Kay Bacchus Baptiste while speaking on Hot 97 earlier this week said, according to the information she has received; it would appear that one of the individuals who is a person of interest to the police in the Cornelius John matter may be charged. In contrast, a second person of interest in the same matter may not be.
“My inside information is that the attempt is to pin it on Assistant DPP Karim Nelson because allegedly he’s the one that shot Mr John, so he’s the one that might be charged. Then Mr John may be charged, might be charged as well. This is what I am getting”.
“Let me just say this, in law; you can’t excuse Senator Morgan for what she did and charge Nelson; it is a joint enterprise, a common purpose, they went there together.”
“After the shooting, according to my client, the Senator took a gun and threatened him. But you know what’s bothering me? In all of this, I don’t know if they were given a caution statement; if they did, we would like to know”.
“Why Do You Think The Allegations Of One Person Is The Truth”? PM Gonsalves
Prime Ralph Gonsalves in May, said persons are running with allegations and talking about it as though it’s the unvarnished truth and the unvarnished facts.
“I just want to say I hope they don’t run into problems with the laws of defamation, Why do people think that everything has to be hung out to dry in public when an investigation is going on,” Gonsalves said.
“I had spoken to Senator Morgan, she called me when the incident occurred as you would expect that she would, and what I have read in the newspapers or how person’s talk about it without going into any details, just keep your mouth shut a bit and don’t believe and accept as fact some of the most outlandish things that you have heard”.
Opposition Leader Thrown Out For Raising A Question Of Alleged Criminality
“What happened in the house of parliament in St Vincent and the Grenadines on Tuesday 11th May was a travesty of Justice” Leader of the Opposition Godwin Friday.
“I, the Opposition leader, was thrown out of parliament for raising the most reasonable objection; I have not accused anybody, I have not convicted anybody, all I said is what was done in every country and most recently in Jamaica.”
In May the Opposition leader had asked the Speaker of the house to use her discretion concerning an allegation involving government Senator Ashelle Morgan.
“You have a serious offense; you have an allegation hanging over your head, you withdraw, unless you feel it doesn’t matter, that you can stand behind technicalities and rules and say that the larger principle of decency and decorum of the house does not matter when you have a public official involve in a matter of this sort.”
“Nobody is convicting anyone, all we say is withdraw, but no, the leader of the opposition is kicked out of the house where the people’s business is being conducted, and am not accused of anything, but a senator is there seated”.
“ All we said is that you cannot sit in the chamber and carry on as if its business as usual, withdraw, and if that does not happen, the Prime Minister can suspend her until such time that the investigation is over and it takes its course.”
“But instead, police officers were dressed, armed, and ready to take me out of the chamber; how ironic that here I am raising a question of alleged criminality, and I am the one for raising it was thrown out of the house.”
There is growing public dissatisfaction on how the matter is being handled, with supporters of the ruling party openly calling on its leaders to have the Senator stand down until the investigation is over.
