TWENTY-SIX-YEAR-old Ricardo Simpson, who is charged with wounding with intent, was sentenced to 9 years in prison, after he was found guilty by a jury when he appeared in the Clarendon Circuit Court on Tuesday.
Simpson, who is of a Palmer's Cross, May Pen address, was charged for the offence on January 17, after he and a group of men went to a construction site on Miriam Way in May Pen, where they saw the complainant, Joslyn Forbes, and demanded that he give them some of the work. When their demand was not met, the men then set upon and proceeded to beat Mr. Forbes.
The court was told that Mr. Forbes received a 5-inch laceration from his right ear to the right eye. His eyeball was also slashed and as a result he has lost vision in that eye. Mr. Forbes also received several bruises all over his body and injury to his back.
The court was further told that Mr. Forbes was hospitalised for three weeks as a result of the injuries he sustained.
During the trial it was said that the accused used a knife to slash Mr. Forbes, however, the medical report presented to the court could not determine if it was a knife, or a blunt object was used to inflict the cut, as the two doctors who testified said it was a possibility that a knife or a blunt object could have been used to inflict the wound.
The defence tried to further convince the jury that the accused man was innocent as he had maintained that he was not at the scene of the crime on the day in question. However, this did not convince the jury who returned a unanimous guilty verdict in less than 15 minutes.
