Woman accused of injuring prime minister granted bail

KINGSTOWN:

Armed police, including some wearing hard helmets and carrying truncheons, were stationed outside the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court on Monday as Annamay Lewis, a 56-year-old vendor, of Layou, appeared in court charged with wounding Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves.

The police officers outnumbered the crowd as Lewis arrived in an unmarked police vehicle before being escorted into the building by a plain-clothes female detective.

Superintendent of Police Hesran Ballantyne told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that the police presence was to ensure law and order during the court proceedings.

As the accused woman, clad in a red blouse, blue jeans, black socks, white slippers, and a gold headtie, arrived, her daughter, Stacia Simmons-Lewis, who was sitting outside of the court building, began shouting “My mother is innocent! My mother is innocent!

“I am here with a damaged spine, and I have to up and down with my mother,” she cried, adding that despite her medical condition, she had to show support for her mother.

“My mother is innocent!” Simmons-Lewis repeatedly screamed. “My mother will not be made a scapegoat! My mother will not be made a scapegoat!” she said.

The magistrate set bail at EC$3,000 (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) with one and adjourned the matter to September 15.