By Ramia Thomas

Cleophas Charles sat in the dock of the 1st District Court on Monday staring inscrutably at the faces of the 14 people who would decide his fate as they filed into the jury box. The 37-year–old man of Caico, Millet was on trial for murder. The trim, dark, fine fettled man in a plaid, buttoned-up, short sleeved shirt and a pair of blue jeans, was accused of unlawfully killing 35-year-old Angel Leon known by his comrades as "Steve" or "Channel" also of Caico, at a Millet celebration on April 29, 2002.

Robert Innocent acted for the prosecution and Stanley Felix for the defense. Justice Kenneth Benjamin presided over the case. Among those who took the stand was Francis Columbus Symphorien. Wearing a bright orange polo shirt and worn blue jeans, he told the court that being an artist and a vendor, he went to Millet on April 28, 2002 to get some coconuts in order to do some work the following day.

"Since it was Sunday, I hiked a ride on a black van. It stopped at Millet Day. I left my bag in the van ’cause I knew the driver. There I met Cleophas and Boboye at a bar. I bought them drinks and we were having a good time. Then a guy called Channel joined, stood next to the guys and asked me to buy him a drink. I said, "no more drinks" and continued to buy my friends drinks. I went for my bag, put it on my left shoulder and came back. Channel grabbed my bag and ran.

Cleophas took after him. Not too far off there was a scuffle between Cleophas and Channel. The crowd converged and I couldn’t see what was happening. After a while Cleophas returned my bag to me. From what I can remember, I left and went higher up to a next bar and stayed there throughout the night till about 2am," testified Symphorien. He mentioned that he never saw Cleophas again till later that morning about 9am.

"I was staying by Ms Francis Polius when I heard a knock on the door. It was Cleophas. I saw big cuts all over his chest." "I asked him: ‘What happened?’ He said: ‘Channel is a thief’." Symphorien said he told Charles to go to the hospital. "What was in the bag?" asked Innocent. "Some carvings, deodorant spray, a carving knife and some money," he replied. "Did you open the bag when it was returned to you?" Innocent questioned.

"I didn’t bother to open it," he said. He continued saying that on his way to Ms Polius’ house, a van slowed down next to him and some guys on board had grabbed that same bag off his shoulder and took off with its contents. Stating that that was the last he saw of the bag."Can you describe your carving knife?" inquired Innocent. Symphorien said it was a Japanese made three-pin blade, seven-inch long stainless steel carving knife with a brown handle and a silver blade.

"When was the last time you saw Cleophas?" Innocent then questioned."The last I saw Cleophas was at Bordelais," Symphorien responded. "Can you see him now?" Innocent next asked. "He’s sitting behind you," Symphorien pointed to the accused, whose hands were shaped in the Star of David. "How long did Cleophas leave for?" questioned Felix.

"I’m not sure. It was less than an hour," Symphorien estimated. "When Cleophas returned the bag to you, what was his physical condition?" Felix continued. "He was just breathing a little hard and was not happy. I left him standing there and moved. I didn’t see them fighting."

"Who’s Boboye?" wondered the forewoman. "He’s a friend of the lady I was staying at," Symphorien answered. The prosecution then called for Dale Renee, a tall man wearing an off-white shirt tucked into gray pants and a pair of red and white sneakers. He explained that he met Symphorien through his friend Leon, but was not a direct friend of his. He said that on the alleged day he went to the Persian bar with Leon and two other men. While standing at a bar he saw Charles with two girls from Coolie Town. Symphorien offered his friend Charles a drink, he accepted.

Renee testified that while in Symphorien’s company, Charles ordered another drink costing $25. The bartender then inquired for the payment of that drink. Leon asked Charles to pay for the drink saying, "that’s a day’s work." Charles explained that it wasn’t him who was paying for the drinks, but Symphorien. Leon then proceeded to advise Symphorien not to pay for the drink. Upon hearing this Charles began to fight with Leon and was separated by persons present. Leon further grabbed Charles who was standing four feet away, by the neck and said, "I doh have nothing with you." Charles reacted by pushing Leon away saying, "I not on dat…!" Then they fought again.

"I told Charles leave de man alone," recalled Renee, his long dark arms at his back."They were separated again and Steve told me he was going down the road," he added.Renee: "I saw Charles take something from Symphorien’s bag which was on the ground next to him after the second fight, and put it on the right side of his waist. I know it was his bag ‘cause he showed me coconut birds from that black bag when he had arrived. I don’t know exactly what was taken from it.

"Leon at the time was walking in the direction of his home. Then I noticed Charles walking in the same direction, backwards as if he was looking for something. When Leon took the corner 25 feet away from us, Charles ran after him. Benjamin, two other guys and myself ran after him. When we got there, Charles was on top of Leon striking him with a knife in his hand. I didn’t do anything because Charles had a knife. I didn’t notice Leon with anything trying to defend himself. He got up and kicked Charles into a gutter six ft away from him," stated Renee.

Renee further said that he saw Leon continue his walk down the road holding his abdomen, as he made an attempt to call out to him. "Charles moved his shoe while in the gutter. He took a knife in his right hand and wiped it on his pants then ran in the same direction that Leon was heading. There was a pool of blood where Leon laid next to a lamp post," Renee’s voice dropped as a saddened look took over his face.

Renee explained to the court that he didn’t follow because he had a little misunderstanding with Charles concerning some gambling issue in the past. Charles, hearing this, placed his right hand over his face, his green and white sneakers pressing against the wooden partition in front him.

Renee told the court that he returned to the dancehall. When he finally got home, he was told that Leon was in the hospital and that was the last he heard of his friend. Felix then rose to question the witness: "Is it true that it was Leon who had snatched the bag from Symphorien?" Renee raised his voice louder and repeated: "No bag was snatched there. No bag was snatched there!" Renee swore that Leon had purchased his own drinks, as well as that of others while at the bar.

During a court lunch break I observed Charles holding a small red booklet in his hand, with the golden inscription, ‘The Four Gospels.’ The next witness to take the stand was Calvin Stanislaus. The neatly attired man testified that he has known Charles since he was a baby and Leon for a very long time. To this Charles lowered his head and started playing with his fingers.

Stanislaus said that at 12:45am he was at his house when he heard someone call out to him. He went outside to discover Leon lying on the floor of his balcony. Stanislaus then left Leon to call his brother Mark Louis, who arranged for Leon to be taken to the Victoria Hospital. Stanislaus said he remained at home to clean up the pool of blood that Leon had left behind. No further questioning came from either the prosecution or the jury.

Mark Louis—a large man wearing a football shirt and a pair of worn blue jeans—stepped into the witness box, holding a cap in his hand. Louis said that he was a plumber by profession and was asleep at home when his brother called. Arriving at his brother’s house, he said he saw Leon crying and noticed a cut on his belly. Louis then called for Matthew James who consented to drive Leon to the hospital using his van.

Matthew James, a farmer, then approached the witness stand. Dressed in a green polo shirt, black jeans and a pair of black and white sneakers, holding his brown cap in his hand. The accused folded his arms as James testified. James confirmed that he had driven Leon to the Victoria Hospital. The final witness on the stand was pathologist Dr Stephen King.

"I did a post mortem examination on the body and made notes of my findings," said King, as he began to read. "The body was that of an adult male, about 35 years. He measured 144 cm long, body size average," said King adding that there were a number of wounds to the body.

"There were two stab wounds. One to the left side of the abdomen—2.2cm on the surface; it was to the left of the eighth and ninth ribs near the rib margin and extended to the front of the abdominal cavity. The second stab wound was to the right of the lower abdomen, which extended to the abdominal cavity and continued into the psoas muscles (a back muscle). ". . . In my opinion the cause of death was hemorrhagic shock mainly as a result of the two stab wounds to the abdomen."

"In your opinion what could have caused these kind of wounds?" questioned Innocent."There’s a number of instruments that could have caused it, the most common one being a knife," responded King. The judge gave instructions to the jury, while Felix whispered to his client. The judge then turned to the accused and asked him, "How do you plead?"

Charles responded: "I plead guilty to manslaughter but not murder." The judge turned to the jury and told them that the evidence that was heard should now be used to render a verdict on the charge of manslaughter and not murder. Charles took a deep breath and held onto the dock as the jury found him guilty. In the mean time the accused is remanded in custody for sentencing on May 5, 2008.