Lawrence Tavern farmer on murder rap gets bail
Published:Friday | July 16, 2021 | 12:13 AM
A St Andrew farmer charged for the alleged murder of a mentally challenged man in Lawrence Tavern last month was on Thursday offered $600,000 bail when he appeared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court.
The 49-year-old accused, Fitzgerald Hunter, otherwise called ‘Chappy’, of Belmont district in Lawrence Tavern, was charged with murder in relation to the death of 53-year-old Gradley Richards on June 4.
Richards, who had sustained a chop wound on his foot after he allegedly attacked Hunter, reportedly bled to death after jumping into a gully off the Florence Hill main road in Lawrence Tavern.
He was reportedly found unresponsive in the gully by police after residents heard him crying and called for help.
According to a caution statement given by Hunter, on the night in question, about 7:30, he was on the roadway when Richards attacked him with a machete and chopped him on his neck.
A tussle reportedly ensued between them, resulting in both men falling to the ground.
According to Hunter, during the fall, the machete cut Richards on his leg close to his ankle.
The accused said he then took away the machete, but Richards then pulled a knife and tried to stab him.
Richards said he then used the machete to slap Richards, who then started hurling stones at him before running off.
Following the incident, Hunter surrendered to the police and was arrested and charged.
When he appeared in court on Thursday, his attorney-at-law, Kemar Robinson, during a bail application, argued that his client had acted in self-defence after he came under attack from the now-deceased man and was injured.
Hunter was subsequently offered bail on conditions that he surrender his travel documents with a stop order imposed and report to the Lawrence Tavern Police Station Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
The accused is scheduled to return to court on October 21.