Teenage Shooting Victim Testifies

November 16, 2011

In the witness stand and giving evidence today [Nov.16] in the Supreme Court attempted murder trial of Royunde Stevens Cyrus, Jahrockia Smith-Hassell confirmed that he had been shot three times; the first shot had missed, then he was subsequently hit in his back and in the leg as he was running away.

Following the shooting in March of this year, he had spent three weeks in the hospital. After his release the Police questioned him, and under questioning he had been shown ten pictures.

Smith-Hassell said that he was 100 percent positive in identifying and picking out the shooter from those ten. 24-year-old Royunde Stevens Cyrus, who was identified by the shooting victim as the shooter, denies the charge of attempted murder.

The 17-year-old, who was 16 at the time of the shooting, said that this attempt to harm him was not the first and only.

Responding to DPP Prosecutor’s questioning, Smith-Hassell said that someone had earlier tried to stab him in the back. He said that this happened in either December 2010 or January 2011.

Prompted by Justice Charles Etta- Simmons, he could not be more definite. He said that this had happened in Fenton’s Drive, Parson’s Road, Pembroke. He described a second occasion that occurred when, he said, he had gone to the shop for his sister and had been accosted by a group who “started going on about me and my girl.”

Smith-Hassell told the jury that: “All of them wanted to get me.” Asked to explain who ‘they’ were, he answered “Parkside guys wanted to kill me.”

In further examination in chief, Smith-Hassell was asked to explain what certain terms that he had been using meant. What was ‘churchyard’? Smith-Hassell offered that this was St Monica’s Mission and its immediate environs.

What was ‘Boat Club’? This he said, was the Mid Atlantic Boat and Sports Club on North Shore Road in Devonshire. ‘Dubby’s yard?’ This was a house in the St Monica’s Church area.

Smith-Hassell also said that the area around St Monica’s Mission was known, in his circles as “42nd” and that the guys who ‘chilled’ in that area were known by the gang name ‘42nd’.

The trial continues.

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Comments (15)

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  1. Facebook Postings Used In Shooting Trial : Bernews.com | November 18, 2011
  1. RME says:

    Jahrockia is a guy’s name??? Alrightey-then.

    • Spellcheck says:

      WHAT THE H3LL WAS HIS PARENT’S THINKING? JAHROCKIA? WOW!

  2. Think about it says:

    Reading the “victims” statements highlights exactly EVERYTHING that is wrong with black Bermudian males. Why was this (at the time) 16 year old BOY hangning out all hours of the night drinking Hennessy and chivas?! And the fact that he is so calmly admitting it means that his parents don’t give a damn. If I was the defense I would bring up the fact that he was drinking and get this case thrown out. I can’t be mad at someone for trying to kill another potential criminal. Might prevent another poor defenseless woman from getting her purse snatched or another innocent kid getting hurt.

    • N/A says:

      Huh?!?! You said that if you were the defense you would bring up the fact that he was drinking and get this case thrown out?!?! What does that have to do with the fact that the accused tried to kill him?! You are in no place to be criticizing “black Bermudian males” if you are making a stupid comment like that. That stupid thinking is what is fueling these young black males to feel they have no future other than gang life and crime. The victim doesn’t sound like a saint, but I truly respect his honesty, instead of some of these Viruses who get in court and try to act like choirboys…

      • Sound the alarm says:

        The defense may bring up the alcohol use in an attempt to convince the jury that he was too inebriated to accurately identify the defendant as the shooter. On another note….parents, we need to keep our children close and protect them not only from the idiocy of their peers but from themselves as well. The earlier a person starts drinking the more likely they are to become alcoholics. I hope this unjustifiable shooting has been a wake up. He may actually have the potential to be a doctor, lawyer or business executive inside him if he has decided to make wiser choices with his time since this incident.

      • Think about it says:

        Lol, respect the honesty of a 16 year old that drinks Hennessy and chivas all day? Really? Teens tend to lie as it is, and from the sounds of how this child carries on, he’s probably worse.

        I’m tired of people crying about young black males feeling like they can’t have a future so they turn to crime. That is a BULLSH*T excuse. The “young black males” have the same chances as everyone else. The difference is they get their first little taste of fast money, drugs and girls, and decide that’s the life for them. Look at all the young white, filipino, sri lanken, portuguese men on the island. You can’t tell me they all come from money so that’s why they don’t commit crimes. They go to school, get educated and get jobs.

        Also, to address your comment- “You are in no place to be criticizing “black Bermudian males” if you are making a stupid comment like that.” I am a grown black male, so I can say what I like. Unlike the rest of black Bermuda, I can admit when these idiot are the only ones to blame and not society or “the white man.”

        Cry me a freaking river

    • Can You See Me Now says:

      Um…underage drinking isn’t just a black Bermudian male problem….lets get that one straight.

  3. Friend says:

    Keep Ya head up Roy! i got ya bck!

  4. Street Business says:

    Ignorance is bliss. So now only “black Bermudian men” are committing crime. If I’m not mistaken a white expat worker was throwing blows at Police officers while in a drunken rage. Then had a slap on the wrist with a fine. Are you serious about your stupid comments?

    • Think about it says:

      Thats a one in a million occurence in Bermuda. And at least he had some sort of an excuse, he was drunk. These young black males are fully aware of their actions and they still do what they do.