St Michael man on bond after admitting to assaulting woman

Jason Tyrone Layne is now on a three-month bond to keep the peace after admitting to an assault charge in a Bridgetown Court.

The 43-year-old machine operator of Upper Wavell Avenue, Black Rock, St Michael, pleaded guilty to assaulting Tamara Butcher, occasioning her actual bodily harm, on August 5. If the bond is breached, he will have to pay a $500 fine immediately or spend 60 days in prison.

Sergeant Kenmore Phillips told the No. 1 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court that the couple lived together with children. Around 11 p.m. on the date in question, he became irate after being struck in the eye by one of the children while watching television, and he threatened to hit the child. Butcher picked up the child, and Layne slapped her in the face. She ran into the kitchen and armed herself with a knife, and the two argued. Later that night, the complainant fell asleep after putting her cell phone to charge. She woke up sometime later to find Layne going through the phone, which sparked another quarrel and another assault.

Disagreeing with the facts as outlined, Layne said he had only touched the complainant to remove a knife from her hand, as she had tried to stab him while accusing him of infidelity.

“She cut me with the knife. She was cursing and keeping a lot of noise. I told her all of this ain’t call for. I have footage of how she was getting on and when she realised I was recording she, she say she gine tell de police I beat her and start to throw her own clothes outside de house…. The way how she get these injuries is from me tekking these knives from she because everytime I tek way a knife from she, she went and tek [it] back up to come and attack me,” he stated.

Expressing concern about the examples being set for their children, Chief Magistrate Ian Weekes advised, “If there is no trust, there is no relationship.”