A 60-year-old Newtown man has been ordered to pay $1,000 in compensation to 17-year-old Joshua Letang by October 31 or will spend 4 months in jail in default after he pleaded guilty to a charge of wounding on Friday.
Morris Xavier was also fined $400 to be paid by 31 December or 10 weeks in prison.
According to prosecutor Valda Powell, Xavier was in his window when he saw Letang and another young man in a ‘disagreement. ‘
Xavier allegedly said something to the complainant who immediately responded. It is reported that Xavier “did not like” the teenager’s response and came out of his home with a piece of stick, which he used to hit the teen on his head.
Letang made a report at the Roseau police station and Xavier was arrested.
Letang’s mother told the court on Friday that her son had to miss an internship he was involved in as a result of the injury. She said her son suffered two weeks of pain and suffering and had received some stitches on his forehead.
Xavier explained to the court that he got angry because the young man started cursing him when spoken too. He said Letang used a bottle to hit him on the head and he swung the piece of wood at him as a result.
“You have to learn to mind your business,” Magistrate Ossie Lewis told Xavier and said to him that he should not have gotten involved in the confrontation between the two boys.
Sorry Judge Lewis, I disagree with your statement. This statement should have been phrased differently. I am not an attorney and I can sense that this statement seems to be juvenile like the kids. That is what we do in DA mind each other’s business. We are all our “brother’s keeper.” If we mind our business how will the crimes be solved? Mr Xavier should have stayed in his window and told them to stop and then call the police for the boys. His approach would have worked 20 years ago, but not today. That young man appears to be rude and disrespetful and shows no regard for his elders. You can’t argue with stupid.
Joshua letang was in my class in primary school and he had a BAD temper…. fighting and cursing with teachers
well if his mother want to support his bad ways she will be well wrong i neva forgot the story when the boy bite off his mom hears he called to her and went to her ears as if he wanted to say his last words to her and he bite off her ears and said if u had corrected me when i was doing wrong in my younger days i would not be there today so i hope to late will not be her cry
What Mr. Lewis said was’nt a nice statement. Morris have no right to hit the young man with a
stick regardless to his rudeness to him.
But if you read the story it’s as a result of the young man hitting him with a bottle…
The WIZARD of OZ has taken his monika for granted.What happens to people in position of authority who give BAD advice.maybe in his past diliberations he has made bad judgements and sent innocent people to jail or imposed exhorbitant fines for minor infractions
It ALL seems wrong to me. The magistrate saying to mind yur business. The man hitting the boy. The two boys fighting an cursing in public. The public “kicksing off” on it. Where are we my people ?
This statement by Mr. Lewis is very disturbing no
wonder these young man getting themselves in so much trouble. Morris was trying to prevent them
from hurting each other and then he got himself
in trouble.
i hope this ossie lewis is sending this mind your business message to all dac ppl bcuz i hear the police constantaly seeking cooperation from the public… so we the public will NOT go speaking to the police . Thanks Ossie for your foolish interjection!
Mr. Xavier is 60 years old and watching two boys in a rundown, if I were in his place I would try to put peace between the boys, as well, but I would use an approach that would get them to calm down–not one of them cursing at me.
Apparently, that was where Mr Xavier failed; in that he was no different from the boys, where self-control had to be the key, to turn off the rage between those two boys.
Angry because the boy cursed at him, and leaving his window to go after the boy, with a weapon–the stick–that conduct seemed kind of childish to mem he being the adult there.
However, I do not agree with the Judge that it was none of his business; if we all say it in none of our business, the world would be much, much worst than it is right now.
But people like Mr Xavier needs to know when to act like a man and not a boy. The boy was wrong to curse him, but he was more than wrong to leave his house to go after the the boy with a stick–especially that he had interfered at first hand.
And so two wrongs don’t make a right–Mr Xavier should be the responsible person, as the adult. The judgment was fair–that is the important thing.
Correction:
(1) childish to mem–that should read “childish to me,”
(2) if we all say it in none of our business–that should read: “if we all say it is none of our business.”
What can one say, those are the days.
“You have to learn to mind your business,” Magistrate Ossie Lewis told Xavier and said to him that he should not have gotten involved in the confrontation between the two boys.
If this does not call for a Dismissal I do not know what will.
If that is the case and we listen to what this judge says, I guess we are well in the way to rape and pillage becasue that is what he wants the people to cose there eyes.
NO WITNESSES: MIND YOUR BUSINESS. LET CRIME REIGHN
When a high seating person as a judge, take away the responsibility of the youth from the youth and the ability of society to place order. what do you expect from these kids? now should we still be wondering why our society has grown into its present state…!
The magistrate do right tell the man to mind his business. Dominicans to like to poke their nose in things that not concerning them! Furthermore, he had no right to hit the young boy on his head!
Unique, if you keep silent, people will think that you have a brain. You lost our respect when you posted that statement.Need I go on?
a a….de judge say to mind ur business wii. Mam, that is not an “honorable” thing to say as a judge!! So u checking u doh want “snitches” in ur court lonplice, then? No wonder all kind of people does get bail down there.
That is unbecoming of the magistrate. He thinks he is a little God. He had no business to tell the man to mind his business.
What???!!!! Well Mr. Ossie Lewis Margistrate of the court you have have just finally finished Dominica in that one statement. Are we seriously so far into the computer age and internet children..sad. Parents it now means officially in Dominica that we are directly responsible to train our children, lets trust God to help us do our single given job right.
live people in dear story do tell people nor thing when they in deer thing that good for him
LEAVE people in THEIR story don’t tell people NOTHING when they in THEIR thing that’s good for him.
I’m not even touching the punctuations.
I totally do not condone the elderly guy hitting the youngster with the stick, but that is unbecoming of a sitting judge to tell the elder to mind his business.
This is a harmful precedence that she is setting there. What if one of the young men had fatally struck the other and the elder had just sit there and mind his business? She would have been one of the first people to call him out. Maybe if the elder had minded his business, as she says he should, she would have been conducted a murder case instead.
I say irrespective of everything, it is the obligation of the elders to call out the youngsters or society is doomed.
This judge ought to mark her words more carefully… shame on her.
You could not have said it better!! SHAME ON THE MAGISTRATE, SHE IS ENCOURAGING SOCIAL DISORDER.
I think the judge is male not female, I stand corrected.
The Magistrate is a he not a she
She!!!! wha you cyan read!!
” Magistrate Ossie Lewis”.. That’s a MAN!!! Since I know myself I have known Ossie Lewis to be a man with your kankan “she this”, “she that”. Also learn the difference between Margistrate and Judge. You are way to emotional calm down and get your thoughts together!
I am totally in agreement with you. I cannot understand that the magistrate is saying when you see something wrong going on pass straight. Utter rubbish. Shame on her.
Hey! A Voice, I agree with everything you said. But you must read carefully. The magistrate ‘Ossie Lewis’ is a man not a woman.
The magistrate is a male.
Am I blind or did this report say that Ossie Lewis was the magistrate… did Ossie have a sex change without my knowing?
the voice Magistrate Ossie Lewis is not a woman is a man LOL
Thank you guys. I humbly stand corrected. It is always good when we can correct each other’s errors without getting personal or insultive.
Once again I stand corrected. It is a Magistrate and not a Judge and it’s a he not a she. And I say that without being emotional too…
Assertive, NOT Agressive!
voice, although I dont know who you are, your humilty i truly appreciate. There should be more people like you, who when corrected even if some people may criticize them should just take correction without throwing a tantrum, once again i applaud you.
Growing up I could not even call my parents’ friends by their first name… it was Aunty this and Uncle that (I am a grown woman today and I still do) … farless for me to be misbehaving on the streets and adults could not correct me…. just so i don’t get into trouble with my mom, i would have to hide if i wanted to misbehave
… i would not dare go home and complain cuz my mother would give me a good ass whooping for complaining and for misbehaving … GONE ARE THOSE DAYS FOR TRUE … I am not condoning what the young boy said to the man, however how did he attempt to correct the young lad… The saying goes “Its not what you say is how you say it”…. still the young man should just go on his way after being spoken too by the adult…… On the other hand, the man, BY NO MEANS, should have turned violent towards the lad… #justmy2cents
i hope all the police offers are hearing this mind your own business just let everyone do as they feel. Live them mad men go where ever they want, live them young boys fight,live them drug dealers alone what a country
Wow. “mind your business”…Community policing goes right out of the window, I guess.
I concur. The magistrate could have advised him to refrain from using violence. We are our brothers’ keepers and should help maintain the peace. Therefore, he was not wrong for trying to diffuse a bad situation. His method was wrong. This advice sends the wrong message to the public.
Mr. Xavier, gone are the days when we used to be called upon by our seniors when we were misbehaving, we are in the 21st Century Sir, the old adage “It takes a village to raise a child” has long gone in the wilderness. Sorry to say, our society is so rotten now, that before u talk to a child or young person the four letter word comes into action and your innocent mother is undressed in the public. Growing up as a kid we respected our seniors to the T, not today. Hope u learn a life-time lesson. Sorry about that. According to the deceased Mr. Labad, “Time will tell”. You too must learn to be calm in situations like these. U should have controlled yourself. U turned Ur right into a wrong. Sorry Pal. Pay your fine and stay quiet.
I don’t understand that magistrate! Should we all turn a blind eye to wrong doing? What about the old teaching the young ones in the ways of truth and proper conduct? So many of our ones are going astray. Should not the older ones speak?
I am not condoning the hitting of the young man with a stick but for the magistrate to inform the elderly that he needs to mind his own business and not be concern about the events taking place around him is wrong. We should always be each other keeper. The trouble is, these days Respect for elders is a thing of the past hence the many youngsters give back chat to adults when called out on disorderly conduct.
If we as elder are going to run the risk of calling out others on wrong doing then we should be prepared to deal with some backlashes
Well Papi, you have to just remember next time that we aren’t living in the times when you could correct people children on the streets how u wanted to and get away with it.
sad but true….