Bail offered to man on charges of chopping 'father-in-law'

WESTERN BUREAU:

A St Catherine man who allegedly chopped his girlfriend's father during an altercation had his case put off until December 4 when he appeared before the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court on Tuesday as his case file was incomplete.

Thirty-one-year-old cabinetmaker, Ryan Thompson, who is originally of a Waterford address in St Catherine and a Barrett Town address in St James, was charged with unlawfully wounding Roystan Richards. He was offered bail in the sum of $350,000, with three sureties.

The court was told that on October 2, Thompson and Richards were involved in a dispute during which Thompson used a machete to chop Richards on the arm and leg.

In his explanation, Thompson told Resident Magistrate Carolyn Tie that he and Richards had been in a long-standing dispute since 2011 and that Richards had attacked him.

"I know this guy (Richards) from 2011. His daughter is my babymother, and in 2011, we had an argument, and her father called us and he threw gas on me and lit me," said Thompson. "On October 2, I had a piece of land and I was clearing the land. Then, I was walking with the cutlass when he attacked me and hit me in my back."

"Sir, do you believe mediation could help the situation?" Tie addressed Richards, who had one arm heavily bandaged and was walking on crutches.

"No, your honour," Richards flatly replied.

The court was also told that Richards' medical certificate was outstanding from the prosecution's casefile.

"If I am going to offer you bail, you will have to find somewhere else to live," Tie told Thompson.

"No problem. I am from St Catherine," Thompson replied.

As part of his bail conditions, Thompson was ordered to relocate to Waterford in St Catherine and to report to the Waterford Police Station on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.