A 22-year-old man is now on remand at the Dominica State Prison following a charge of murder preferred against him by the police.
Garry Thomas appeared before Magistrate Pearl Williams on October 4, 2021, at the Grand Bay Magistrate court where the charge was read.
It is alleged that on September 26, 2021, at Ravine Shall, Petite Savanne, Thomas inflicted stab wounds to the body of 41 year-old Stalkly Antoine of the same community which resulted in his death.
Following the alleged incident, Thomas surrendered himself to the investigating officer at the Grand Bay police station.
Since murder is an indictable offense–expected to be heard at the High court before a Judge and jury– Thomas was not required to enter a plea.
He is represented by attorney- at-law Joshua Francis from the Law Chambers of Joshua Francis. Francis has since informed Dominica News Online (DNO) that he will be making an application to the High court for bail on behalf of his client.
“The situation which caused the loss of life of Stalkly Antoine is a dreadful one and there is no winner. The entire community of Petite Savanne and environments are currently in pain resulting from that incident,” Francis stated. “The family of Gary Thomas is in pain, as well as a family of Stalkly Antoine, the deceased. I wanted to take this opportunity to express my sincerest condolences to the community of Petite Savanne and environs, the family and friends of the deceased.”
Francis also appealed to the public not to settle their disputes by way of violence but through a rational conversation.
“Do not take the law into your own hands,” he cautioned “but speak to each other and where necessary, get the intervention of the police or a family member or friend to resolve issues. Let us hope that for the remainder of the year that we do not have such incidents or loss of life or murder or anything so injurious to the public.”
The matter was adjourned to January 24, 2022, for preliminary inquiry.
Our court system has plenty blood on their hands. They allow too many muderers to go free. There should be no bail. And once found guilty it’s either they are taken out from this planet or 100 years in jail. After they have done their time give them another 100 years. We need people who are not Dominica citizens to run and rule our court system. It’s a cesspool with spineless worms swimming in every direction. We can’t have that if we want to live in peace in such a blessed and beautiful island. We are killing our own people!!! Think about that. This family must be devastated while we think nothing of it. We are without conscience and our hearts are as hard as stone. It’s very hard to lose a loved one, a member of your family, a brother, father, son, uncle and the list of hurting people are endless. Then the courts turns around with a “ not guilty verdict.” Blood on the courts hands. I wouldn’t defend a murderer if I was a lawyer.
Charges are proffered…
ADMIN: The wording is preferred coming from preferral: https://www.justia.com/dictionary/preferral-of-charges/
I cannot believe a man could kill stalky, he was such a humble man, deep in spirituality, Private guy, always in meditation. This one cut me deep. Im so sorry to hear this. RIP stalkly. One love brother, you are in a better place.
These murder cases take on average 5 or 6 years before a judgment by the court. The families of the victims have to relive this emotional nightmare again.
The life of a human being is sacred. We should not cheapen it by court long delays and light sentences. It there are no mitigating circumstances, life imprisonment in complete isolation. Justice in these cases should also be swift.