By Latrishka Thomas
In just about a week, the prosecution should be ready for the committal hearing of a young man believed to have attacked and wounded 16-year-old Jerkeem Jackson.
Jackson was severely beaten in early May by three males who accosted him while he was walking down a road in Ottos.
As a result of the grisly attack which was caught on surveillance camera, the teen spent about two weeks in the Intensive Care Unit at the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre.
Jackson underwent several lifesaving surgeries for bleeding on his brain and a cracked skull, and a specialist had to be flown in to treat him.
Days prior to his release from the hospital, one of the alleged attackers was arrested and charged with attempted murder.
Twenty-one-year-old Darrell Giddens appeared in the St John’s Magistrate’s Court thereafter and was remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison while he awaited his committal hearing.
Yesterday, when Giddens was brought to court, he was informed that his hearing was being adjourned.
He now has to wait until September 15 to find out if there is sufficient evidence against him for the matter to be added to the High Court’s docket.
According to Jackson’s mother, the incident has left her son with permanent damage.
“He is still being seen by neurologists at the hospital [and] is on medications that should prevent seizures,” she said.
In addition, she told Observer that he experiences mood swings as well as other side effects of the medication he’s been taking.
He also has speech delays but “is determined to push himself to be as normal as possible”.