Cop collapses after verdict

WESTERN BUREAU:

Senior Superintendent of Police Anthony Castelle collapsed in the St James Parish Court yesterday after he was found guilty for a 2016 shooting of a pregnant woman. She was shot in her back as she sat in a taxi that was fired on by the police during a chase through the streets of Montego Bay.

"Di man drop like a shot dem shot him when him hear guilty," said a police officer, who watched as the drama unfolded before presiding magistrate Natalie Hart-Hines. "I believe it was a heart attack or something."

Castelle was found guilty for unlawful wounding and misconduct in a public office arising from the January 22, 2016, incident in which 19-year-old Janice Hines, who was in the first trimester of her pregnancy, was shot and injured.

District Constable Rohan McIntosh, who was implicated in the incident and was also arrested and charged, was released two weeks ago (November 9) following a successful no-case submission on his behalf in the same court.

In responding to the verdict, Errol Chattoo, director of complaints at the Independent Commission of Investigations' (INDECOM) western regional office in Montego Bay, told The Gleaner that "Mr Castelle was found guilty on both counts of unlawful wounding and misconduct in a public office. December 14 is the date that is set [for sentencing], but it may depend on his recovery."

News of Castelle's guilty verdict, collapse, and hospitalisation spread like wildfire through the streets of Montego Bay yesterday.

Residents expressed mixed views.

"I am so sorry for him. He is a very nice man, but by the look of things, he seemed to have made a terrible mistake," said a businesswoman who asked not to be identified. "I hope the judge will not be too hard on him."

Hines, who family members had feared would have lost her baby because of the internal damaged caused by the bullet, has since delivered a healthy baby and made a full recovery.