Rockies resident fined $2,000 for severing fellow villager’s finger

Rockies resident Rillan Gurley was ordered to pay compensation of $2,000 for severing the finger of a man who, he said, refused to pay him for a job he had completed.{{more}}

Gurley, 42, appeared at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, November 4 and pleaded guilty to unlawfully and maliciously wounding fellow villager, Sean Chewitt, with a cutlass, by chopping him on his left hand on November 1, resulting in him losing one finger and injuring another.

Acting magistrate Carla James ordered Gurley to pay Chewitt compensation of $2,000 by January 5, 2015 or spend 18 months in jail.

He was also placed on a one-year bond in the sum of $2,500. Breach of that bond will result in a nine-month custodial sentence.

According to the facts, sometime in October, Chewitt had hired Gurley to cut grass on a piece of land and it was agreed that he would pay him $120.

However, after the job was finished Gurley did not receive his payment. On November 1, Gurley met Chewitt and demanded payment.

Chewitt took $50 from his pocket and threw it on the ground and told Gurley that is all he was paying him, because the job was not done properly.

A tussle ensued, during which Gurley pulled a cutlass from his waist and chopped Chewitt on his left hand.

Chewitt was rushed to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH), where he underwent emergency surgery.(KW)