Deputy Prime Minister Philip 'Brave' Davis.
THE two remaining defendants who were awaiting trial in connection with the gunpoint robbery of Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis at his home have had the case against them withdrawn in the Supreme Court.
Tyrone Knowles, 25, and Marc McCartney, 21, were due to stand trial before Justice Vera Watkins on December 5 concerning the December, 2013, incident.
However, in a hearing on Monday, Crown prosecutor Patrick Sweeting produced a nolle prosequi signed by the Attorney General asking that the charge be discontinued against the two accused.
It is unclear why the Office of the Attorney General dropped the case. Lawyer for the accused Geoffrey Farquharson was also served with a copy of the document.
The Office of the Attorney General could bring the case against Knowles and McCartney again at any time in the Supreme Court, but it is unlikely.
The Christie administration has come under fire from the Free National Movement for issuing nolle prosequi orders in controversial cases.
The two men were accused of robbing Mr. Davis of jewellery worth $93,000, a jewellery box worth $200, Baraka gold jewellery worth $700, an opal top wallet worth $450, a Royal Bank of Canada credit card and a driver’s licence worth $15.
They were also accused of robbing Mr. Davis’ wife, Ann Marie, of $2,953, and Wilberforce Seymour of $10. Mr. Davis was Acting Prime Minister at the time of the incident as Perry Christie was out of the country.
A third accused, 25-year-old Jeffrey King, was to stand trial with Knowles and McCartney. However, in September, he was killed in a shootout with police in Yellow Elder Gardens. He was on bail at the time.
Speaking to reporters days after the robbery in 2013, Mr. Davis said he was left feeling “a bit shaken”, adding that the incident proved that no one is immune to crime.
However, he said he was not afraid during the home invasion. “They don’t call me Brave for nothing,” he told reporters. At the time, Mr. Davis said he did not think he was targeted.
“From all accounts the invaders were not aware of the home that they were entering into,” he said. “They took my aide as the owner of the house [until] they got into my bedroom and saw me.”
In June, 2013, one of Mr. Davis’ police aides was shot during a reported botched armed robbery in eastern New Providence.
Lamech Johnson, Tribune Staff Reporter
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