Magistrate revokes bail for retired cop in shooting case

Bail was yesterday revoked for retired Assistant Superintendent of police Everton Francis, after Magistrate Ngaio Emanuel-Edwards learned of his previous conviction for shooting someone, and that a portion of the compensation remains unpaid to the victim in that incident.
Francis, 61, who was recently charged with wounding with intent after another shooting incident, was immediately carted off to Her Majesty’s Prison after spending just over a week on bail.
A source who was present at court said the Magistrate lamented that when the police took the accused to court late last month, they never mentioned that he had a prior conviction for a similar offence. In fact, they did not object to bail.
The source said the magistrate indicated that she only learned of the previous case from reports in the media, and she subsequently made inquiries which confirmed those reports.
Further inquiries were made yesterday regarding payment of compensation when the cop was taken before Magistrate Emanuel-Edwards in the All Saints Magistrate’s Court to get a committal date for the latest shooting case.
That’s when the magistrate learned that $24,000 out of the total $250,000 remained unpaid to the victim who was left crippled for life following the 2007 shooting incident in Jennings.
The payments were to be made through the High Court. It was also said that the Police Service Commission was supposed to arrange those payments since the senior cop forfeited his pension when he retired to pay the victim, Damien Watson.
If the retired cop wants bail he would have to make the application in the High Court.
He was represented by attorney John Fuller yesterday, and March 13 is the date he has to return for a committal hearing. At that time he is to be told whether the latest shooting case would be sent to the High Court for trial.
In late December the former assistant superintendent of police was released on $15,000 bail after he met the conditions set out by the court.
The conditions included a deposit of $7,000 as a cash component for bail; having two sureties who are citizens of Antigua and Barbuda sign as assurance that he will appear in court on all dates set by the court until the case ends or bail is varied; surrendering his travel documents; and, while out, he had to report to the Johnson’s Point Police Station every day between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
He was also told not to communicate with the complainant or interfere with him directly or indirectly and stay at least 50 feet away from him at all times.
Francis was arrested on December 23 for allegedly shooting Kyle Maxima on December 20 when he reportedly saw the victim lurking outside the home of another resident sometime around 11 p.m.
In the year 2010, Francis was convicted of unlawful wounding in a case where he shot Damien Watson three years earlier.
He had alleged that the man attacked him with a cutlass and he was defending himself, but the evidence at trial proved otherwise.
The man was left confined to a wheelchair for life.