Glenroy Sinclair, Staff Reporter
ONE OF two policemen implicated in a plot to kill a 67-year-old St. Elizabeth farmer was arrested Wednesday afternoon and charged with wounding with intent, following a ruling by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Kent Pantry Q.C.
Corporal Leroy Burton was taken before the Black River Resident Magistrate's Court, where he was offered bail in the sum of $500,000. He is to return to court next Wednesday.
The Bureau of Special Investigations (BSI) has made arrangements to put the second policeman before the court next week.
A team from the BSI, led by Acting Assistant Commissioner Granville Gause, journeyed to St. Elizabeth on Wednesday to effect the arrest.
The allegations against the policemen were investigated by the BSI, which submitted the file to the DPP's office.
It is alleged that, on December 27 last year, the 67-year-old farmer, who is now in protective custody, was awakened by the policemen, who took him about four miles from his home, into a cane field.
He was gagged and bound, then shot and left to die. Preliminary investigations suggested that the farmer fell over a precipice immediately after the bullets pierced his body. He managed to crawl out and got assistance from residents who accompanied him to the police station.
One of the policemen was later pointed out in an identification parade. On May 26, BSI detectives were instructed by the DPP that both officers should be charged with wounding with intent.
