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Cinema shooting suspects appear in Supreme Court

Several men appeared in Supreme Court on gun charges yesterday during a busy arraignments session.Jahmel Blakeney, 29, Kinte Smith, 25, and Sanchey Grant, 19, were accused of shooting Shaki Minors and his pregnant girlfriend Renee Kuchler.The alleged shooting is said to have taken place outside Southside Cinema in St David’s in 2009.Mr Grant has already pleaded not guilty to the offence. Neither Mr Blakeney nor Mr Smith was required to enter a plea yesterday.All three were remanded into custody and ordered to return to court on Friday.Mr Minors and Ms Kuchler have since recovered from their injuries.Also appearing in court was Antonio Myers.A jury found the 25-year-old guilty in March of murdering 30-year-old Kumi Harford.Chief Justice Richard Ground heard that pre-sentencing reports would not be completed for another three weeks and scheduled the matter return to Supreme Court on June 1 for mention.Jah’Mico Trott and Dunn-ya Taylor appeared in connection with the attempted murder of David Godwin on Marsh Folly Road on September 23.Mr Trott is additionally charged with possessing a firearm and using a firearm to commit attempted murder.Both men have denied the charges against them. Their trial is scheduled for September 7.Meanwhile Kenith Bulford, Macray Bulford and Ashley Wellman appeared in connection with the wounding of Dwayne Reid Anderson.The Crown alleges the trio used a firearm to hold Mr Anderson against his will, and robbed him of $4,000 in cash.Their trail is scheduled to begin on August 1.Curtis Mallory, 21, also appeared in the arraignments session in connection with firearms charges.Mr Mallory pleaded guilty to brandishing a firearm and stealing cash from Jason Mello in Smith’s on January 2.He is expected to appear in court today.Jakai Harford appeared on charges of possessing a firearm, and possessing drugs with intent to supply.The 28-year-old was arrested on January 8 after a police raid on his St Monica’s road area home led to the seizure of a 9mm handgun, ammunition, $14,906 worth of cocaine and $5,300 worth of cannabis.His trial is scheduled to begin on August 22, but he is expected to return to Supreme Court on June 1 to confirm that date.Andre Curtis, the former campaign manager for former Premier Ewart Brown also appeared in Supreme Court. Mr Curtis is alleged to have stolen public funds and falsified expenditure from Government’s faith-based tourism budget.The businessman is also accused of stealing approximately $228,000 from Andrew Smith, related to a construction company he once operated.He is now scheduled to return to Supreme Court on September 26 for trial.Merrick Seaman, 25, of Warwick, will be sentenced later this month for two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.Seaman, a diagnosed schizophrenic, was found guilty in March of sexually exploiting a young girl. He is now in custody and is scheduled to return to Supreme Court on May 27 for sentencing.Meanwhile, a 20-year-old pleaded not guilty to two counts of unlawful carnal knowledge and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor.The defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was remanded into custody. The matter is scheduled to be mentioned in court today.Two other men were also charged with sexual offences. One will return to Supreme Court for trial on July 18, while the other matter will be mentioned on June 10.Also appearing in Supreme Court was Sherwin Hall, who has pleaded not guilty to causing grievous bodily harm to 17-year-old Kyle Fraser earlier this year on Middle Road in Sandys.Mr Hall has also denied a connected charge of possessing a bladed article in a public place.He is scheduled to return to Supreme Court on May 27.Two women appeared during the session, charged with importing drugs to the Island.Michelle Latoya Gibbons, 28, of King Street, Pembroke, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to import cannabis valued at $1.1 million.Mr Justice Ground ordered a social inquiry report and a psychiatric report. He released Gibbons on $15,000 bail with an equal surety.Mary Darnell Johnson, who has been charged with conspiring to import around $2.4 million worth of cannabis, was given a trial date of September 5.Also in court on drug importation charges were fisherman Shannon Berkeley and former customs officer Bromwin Thompson.Berkeley has pleaded guilty to importing $54,725 worth of drugs; Mr Thompson has maintained his innocence.A jury acquitted Mr Thompson of one count of conspiring to import drugs earlier this year. They were unable to deliver a verdict on a second charge.The matter is scheduled to be mentioned on June 1. Berkeley was remanded into custody, while Mr Thompson’s bail was extended.Also appearing in Supreme Court was Tashon Bean, who is scheduled to be sentenced this week for using force to steal $56,518 from a TCD security guard, and Winslow “Scaley” Williams, who is scheduled to be sentenced for prowling in Devonshire later this month.Both men remain in custody.