Jahmel Blakeney: Attempted Murder Charge

This morning [Apr.4] in Magistrates Court, Jahmel Glenn Blakeney – who was recently extradited to Bermuda – was charged in relation to the 2009 shooting outside the Southside Cinema which left two people injured.

Escorted into Court under a heavy Police presence, Mr Blakeney was not required to enter a plea to the charge of attempted murder as the matter can only be heard in Supreme Court, and was been remanded in custody.

On November 13, 2009, Shaki Minors [then 26] and his girlfriend Renee Kuchler [then 24], were shot as they left Southside Cinema in St. David’s at approximately 11.30 pm. Both were rushed to hospital, and recovered from their injuries.

Mr Blakeney was extradited to Bermuda this past Friday [Apr.1] from New York. He had been fighting extradition through legal channels, and on March 31, 2011, the US District Court of Appeals rejected his request for a stay of execution of his deportation order, paving the way for him to be returned to Bermuda.

Mr Blakeney was initially arrested shortly after the shooting, and later placed on Police bail while forensic evidence was processed. He never answered bail, instead leaving the island on November 30, 2009.

The Bermuda courts issued an arrest warrant for him in April 2010. Following investigations by the Bermuda Police Service, Mr Blakeney, who holds dual Bermuda and American citizenship, was located in New York and was arrested in June 2010 by the U.S. Marshalls Service on an international arrest warrant. An extradition request was prepared by local officials, and served on the U.S. Justice Department through diplomatic channels.

Others have also been charged others in connection with the crime. In April 2010, then 18-year-old Sanchey Winslow Grant of Warwick Parish was charged with two counts of attempted murder and two firearm charges, to which he pleaded not guilty. In court last week his lawyer attempted to have Mr Grant released on bail, citing the fact that he had now spent one year in custody without having been brought to trial.

On March 14, 2011, 25-year-old Kinte Smith was also charged in connection with the Southside shooting. He left Bermuda two days after the shootings, and was returned to Bermuda  by Canadian Immigration authorities on 9th March, 2011. He was arrested by the Bermuda Police on his arrival in the island, and has remained in custody since that time. Charges were later dropped against Mr Smith.

In the monthly Supreme Court arraignments last week, prosecutor Robert Welling mentioned there is a fourth suspect in the Southside shooting, whom he did not name, but described as being “not in the jurisdiction.” There was also mention made in Supreme Court of the possibility of a joint trial where all four accused would appear and be tried together.

#CrimeInBermuda #JahmelBlakeney #MagistratesAndSupremeCourt #Shootings

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