The young men responsible for last year’s home invasion that left Canadian visitor Kenneth Elliott paralysed, have expressed regret for their actions saying it was never their intention to hurt anyone.
In fact, Travis Orin Campbell, of no fixed place of abode, who was the one who pulled the trigger that changed Elliot’s life, said what he envisioned taking place on February 22, 2020 was not what occurred.
“It wasn’t expected to happen like that. How I visioned it in my head is not how I imagine it actually happen. I was like we will just go with the firearm like to scare the victim and the complainants to declare their stuff to us,” he explained adding that discharging the weapon was also not part of the plan.
“In that moment in time I actually was in shock myself because I was hesitant . . . before I pull the trigger because they started to approach us. So as they approached us I actually turn around, but I turned back around when I saw that the victim was attacking my friend Alex. So that moment I don’t know, something just take over me. It just happen so fast. My hand was on the trigger but I didn’t mean to pull it but it just happen. I regret it,” he said as he addressed Madam Justice Laurie-Ann Smith-Bovell this morning.
Kenneth and his partner Linda Brooks, his brother Robert and sister-in-law Mary were at a home in Christ Church when two masked men stormed the residence armed with a gun and cutlass. He was shot in the upper body and spent 97 days at different hospitals being treated.
Campbell and his accomplice Alexander Patrick Alleyne, of Ealing Grove Gardens, Christ Church took responsibility for the crime pleading guilty to trespassing in the Christ Church residence where Robert Elliott was staying with intent to steal while armed with the weapons. They also admitted using a firearm when they did not have a licence to do so as well as unlawfully and maliciously wounding Kenneth with intent to cause him serious bodily harm or to maim, disfigure or to disable him.
Campbell, who today said he was speaking from his “heart”, prefaced his address to the No. 4 Supreme Court saying “I would like to start by showing Godly sorrow for my actions.”
He said while he did not want to use the circumstances that led to his action as an excuse, he wanted to explain.
He revealed that he was renting an apartment in St Michael and had been fired from his job in construction following an altercation. “Finding work was really hard,”he added. He further told the court that he was not the type to go around “begging” but at the time his family was also going through “a hardship”.
“So I had to make things happen for my own. I had bills to pay and I still had to eat,” the now 20-year-old convict said.
Alleyne, he confessed, was helping him at the time.
“I would say that it was my fault that he was a part of the crime. What I did I am not proud of it but at the time I wasn’t like stable in life. The night before I committed this crime I had actually hadn’t eaten for about four days, so I just like concoct the plan myself.
“I would actually like to have a chance to tell the victim sorry,” he added, saying that whatever the consequences were he was willing to accept.
“I just ask that I be given a second chance in society to redeem myself,” Campbell added.
Alleyne meanwhile read from a prepared “letter” written in a notebook. He too asked for forgiveness from the Elliot family and the court.
“Kenneth Elliott I want to openly say that I am sorry. I am sorry for the pain and expenses that my action put you . . . and your family through,” he read. “When I heard you say that you can’t even attend to your garden it hurt me inside because as a farmer I cannot imagine not being able to water my melons or pick my peppers.
“I wish I can go back in time and stop myself from making such a selfish and stupid mistake. I pray every day that you will be healed by the touch of the Almighty Father. I pray that in time you will forgive me for my actions. My mistake was totally out of character. I do not know what drove me to make such a decision.” he said.
Alleyne also addressed Kenneth’s family.
“I want to say I am sincerely sorry for what I have put you through. I know you look at me as a thug and no more but I want to tell you that I am not. I have made some bad decisions in my life and must live with the consequences of my actions. I am so sorry that you all have to live with them also. Seeing how my actions have affected your everyday life, see what you all had and still have to go through has shown me the extent of my actions.
“I agree with you, yes I have brought shame onto my country and onto myself but I want to say that I can and I will do better. Don’t think of all young black men as thugs and a threat to society. I truly am sorry,” he added.
Alleyne who is also now 20, said while he could not change the past he was hoping for a future where he could do positive things including counselling troubled young people.
“To warn them about the consequences about selfish and unlawful actions. So that I can have a positive effect on their future . . . It was never my intention for anyone to get hurt and I am terribly sorry from my heart.”
He also urged the court to give him a second chance.
“A chance to show the world that I can and I will do good and that I am not another young man lost in oblivion. I want to dedicate my life only to positivity going forward,” Alleyne added.
The two return before Justice Smith-Bovell on Thursday where it is expected that they will get a chance to address the victim and his family virtually.
(fernellawedderburn@barbadostoday.bb)
