By Latrishka Thomas
On July 14, 2022, Shajah Joyce’s attempt to communicate with his estranged wife took a violent turn, landing him in serious trouble with the law after he wounded two people in the house where she was staying.
Yesterday, Justice Ann-Marie Smith sentenced Joyce to 10 years and five months in prison for two counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
On the 13th October, 2023 the convict pleaded guilty to the offences committed against the sister of his estranged wife and the wife’s stepfather, who was also the owner of the home she was residing in.
On the day of the incident, Joyce first stabbed the family dog four times before using the same knife to force his way into the home through the bathroom window.
Once inside, he entered his wife’s bedroom, where he physically restrained her, but the victim managed to free herself and screamed for help, prompting her sister to rush to her aid.
Upon turning on the lights, the sister witnessed Joyce on top of her sister, brandishing a brown-handled knife while wearing gloves. Joyce swung the knife at the sister, cutting her on the right side of her face and chin. A struggle ensued, resulting in the sister sustaining additional stab wounds.
The commotion alerted the owner of the house, who confronted Joyce and was also stabbed.
The homeowner then managed to grab a cutlass and strike Joyce.
The victims were transported to the Mount Saint John Medical Centre where the woman was treated for 13 lacerations while the male victim sustained an injury to his neck that was actively bleeding.
According to the Prosecutor in the matter, Rashida Jonas, Joyce had several aggravating factors working against him and very few mitigating factors.
The aggravating factors included domestic violence, prolonged assault, extensive injuries, use of a weapon, forced entry, and committing the offence under the influence of alcohol and marijuana.
Joyce’s previous good character and early guilty plea were noted as mitigating factors.
In his mitigation, Joyce’s lawyer, Wendel Robinson, attributed the incident to a breakdown in communication between Joyce and his wife. Robinson also revealed that the wife is currently caring for Joyce while he is in prison.
Joyce also apologised to the court saying, “I just want to apologize for what happened in that house. I didn’t really go in there to hurt anyone.”
The man’s wife then took the stand indicating that Joyce merely wanted to speak to her and did not brandish a knife until the incident escalated.
She then begged the court for leniency.
Justice Smith, however, expressed her belief that the woman’s statements were driven by intense fear of the accused.
The judge highlighted sections of a probation report where the wife detailed instances of stalking, her husband monitoring her calls and messages, unannounced appearances, and even hiding in the back of a vehicle she was travelling in.
Taking all the aggravating and mitigating factors into consideration, Justice Smith factored in the injury to the dog.
Subsequently, she sentenced Joyce to 10 years and 5 months in prison, with the time spent on remand to be deducted later.
Additionally, the accused was mandated to undergo anger management and domestic violence counselling.
