In what turned out to be a case of mistaken identity, an accused had his matter dismissed today after the complainant told the court he was not the man who assaulted him over three years ago.
Dario Kamalh Gill, 27, of Ginger Works, Branchbury #2, St Joseph, had been charged with unlawfully assaulting Marlon Martyr on October 3, 2015.
And while Gill had maintained his innocence, it was only today in the District ‘A’ Magistrates Court that Martyr told Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant he had never seen the accused before.
“It wasn’t him. I have never seen him in my life,” a shocked Martyr said.
“The fella that hit me was a skinny, brown-skin man. It happened in the club and I saw him, but this ain’t the man. I never see he yet.”
The surprised magistrate then asked the complainant why he had given the police the name of the accused.
“I never gave the police a name because I didn’t know the man’s name,” was Martyr’s response.
Martyr was then asked by prosecutor Sergeant Cameron Gibbons if he was in any way forced or threatened to have the case dismissed, to which he replied, “no”.
It left Cuffy-Sargeant with no other choice but to dismiss the case and a stern-looking Gill walked out of the courtroom without much fanfare.