Woman fined for incident that left victim with a collapsed lung

A woman who orchestrated an “unprovoked, spiteful and vengeful” stabbing on another woman, who suffered a collapsed lung, was made to pay $10 000 forthwith today as compensation for the victim.

In addition to the money which was paid, Sharaine Mellisa Gollop, from My Lord’s Hill, St Michael was sentenced to three years in prison but it has been suspended for three years. Handing down the sentence in the No. 3 Supreme Court today Justice Carlisle Greaves also ordered the convicted woman to serve three-year probation.

“You shall adhere to directions of the probation officer and enter into such programmes for your betterment as are directed or approved by the probation officer,” the High Court Judge said.

Gollop had been charged with causing serious bodily harm with intent to maim, disfigure or disable Che Yearwood on February 14, 2012. She pleaded not guilty to the offence and went on trial in October 2020. On October 28, two days after the start of the trial, a jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict and Gollop was remanded to Dodds pending sentencing. She was subsequently released on bail.

During the trial the court heard that Gollop and Yearwood appeared to have had a strained relationship for some time. That Valentine’s Day the complainant was on the Blenheim playing field with another friend when Gollop, accompanied by a friend crossed over from the area of the Blenheim Community Centre. She then stabbed Yearwood. Her actions left the woman hospitalised with a collapsed of the lung.

“This is indeed a serious offence,” the judge said as he handed down the sentence this afternoon.

“I can find no justification for the stabbing at the particular time. I saw no evidence of any provocation; no evidence of any self defence. It appeared to me to be a spiteful attack, an unprovoked attack in the presence of bullying by the defendant who in association with her friend felt confident and went out of her way to walk in the path and direction of the complainant so that she can deliver this serious injury to her.”

It was those aggravating factors, he said, which led to him imposing a starting sentence of five years in prison.

However, with respect to the convicted woman as an offender, he said the mitigating features were that she had no prior convictions and that there has been a long delay “suffered by this case”.

Justice Greaves explained that an offer for compensation was made and given the prevailing hard times “it was understandable” why Yearwood “might accept the compensation in these circumstances in lieu of imprisonment. It appears from the probation report she has no desire to have the defendant locked away.”

However, he expressed concern about a video making the rounds on social media involving Gollop and a friend.

“Jeering at the complainant, the compensation won’t last forever but what will last forever, the animosity? Because it is bound to land you back before this court again.”

Greaves said his sentence had taken into consideration the time Gollop had spent on remand, the submissions made by Crown Counsel Rudolph Burnett on sentencing and the mitigation by defence attorney Shadia Simpson including the impact that Gollop’s remand had had on her young son.

However he said the problem he had with that submission was that, “even after release from custody it didn’t seem to bother you then that by your acts you are going to endanger his predicament in the future.

“It seems that if you continue on the present road you have demonstrated both by your previous action and by your recent action he will have much more to suffer. Because you are the one who is going to end up in prison or you are going to raise him in such a way that he turns out just like you – spiteful, hateful, vengeful,” he added.