Ottley Hall resident gets 12 years for robbing man of gun

Ottley Hall resident Semyce Williams says his accuser was mistaken in identifying him as the person who robbed him of his .38 revolver on August 4, last year.{{more}}

However, the jury believed the story of David Richards and found Williams guilty of robbery and assault.

Justice Frederick Bruce-Lyle sentenced Williams, 24, to 12 years in jail on the robbery charge and three years on the assault charge at the High Court on Thursday, October 17.

The sentences will run concurrently.

According to the testimony of Richards, a farmer of Fairbain Pasture, at about 5:30 p.m. on August 4, 2012, he and a friend Cameron Cadougan went to Ottley Hall to look at a vehicle that he (Richards) wanted to purchase.

While inspecting the vehicle, Richards said his friend, who was not too far from him, called out to him.

“I turned to go to Cadougan and I saw Bart Simpson (Williams). He was walking close to where I was, when he pushed his hand in my right pocket. He just walked behind me and did this,” Richards testified.

Richards told the court he stooped down and held on to Williams’ hand.

“I say, man, way your hand doing in my pocket and we been dey wrestling up and he say boy, gimme way you have in your pocket,” Richards added.

Richards, who said he had his gun in his pocket, called out to his friend for some assistance, but noted that Cadougan just stood there and did not respond.

Richards said while he was still wrestling with Williams, two other men came and began beating him about his body.

“They got me on the ground and every time I tried raising up my head, they stomped my head.”

Richards added that Williams managed to pry his revolver away from him and made his escape over an embankment.

Some time following the incident, Richards said he went to the Central Police Station and saw his attacker. It was there he told police officers that Williams was the man who had robbed him.

In his testimony, Cadougan told the court that he was shocked at what was taking place and that was the reason why he did not respond when Richards called on him for assistance.

Cadougan said, “I took a while to analyze the situation. So when I moved towards them, I saw Williams take something out of Richards’ pocket and jump over a wall.”

Williams, who was unrepresented, told the court that he was not at the scene of the crime, because he had spent the entire day at the home of a friend named Dwayne Banfield.

Banfield, who was brought to court as a witness by Williams, told the court that Williams did spend some time at his home that day, but he left when the sun was about to go down.

Williams still has legal troubles to contend with, as he faces a charge of murder. He, and four other men are charged with the shooting death of Rodney Grant, last year at Stoney Ground.