(By Ernesto Cooke) – Kingstown -St Vincent -Today May 13th, marks one month to date since Cornelius John was shot in the leg at his home in Diamond.
Today also marks one month since John alleges that a Government Senator threatened to shot him in the mouth.
Today would also mark one month since there has been no official release from the police to the media indicating that the alleged incident took place.
Cornelius John told News784 on April 28th that he was maltreated and shot on his property by whom he could only describe by their actions as gangsters.
John, a 62yro of Diamond, told News784 last month that on the afternoon of April 13th, he was sitting on a block in his unfinished porch when three persons, one woman and two men dressed in jeans, t-shirts, and masks and caps, entered his property without prior warning.
He said the taller of the men walked up to him and began kicking him in the stomach, which caused him to defecate on himself.
“While I was lying in pain on the ground, he pulls out his gun, cranked it, and told me; you want to kill the senator, you want to kill the senator?” and he proceeded to hold down my left foot and shoot me in it.”
The 62-year Hypertensive told News784 that the woman who entered his property along with the other two men pointed a gun to his face and told him if he called her name in any conversation, she would shoot him in the mouth. He identified the woman as Government Senator and Deputy Speaker of the House of Parliament, Ashelle Morgan.
When pressed by News784 as to how he knew it was Senator Morgan, John replied. ‘It was not hard to identify her.’
To date, there has been no arrest in John’s matter. However, Police Commissioner Colin John says an investigation is ongoing.
He also said that Senator Ashelle Morgan and Assistant DPP Karim Nelson are persons of interest in the investigation.
While Commissioner John did not identify the third individual, Lawyer for Cornelius John, Kay Bacchus Baptiste says, she has information on the third person.
“I have my information on the third person and am waiting; I have a name, I have his rank,” she said while speaking on HOT97.
Bacchus Baptiste, when asked if the individual was a police officer, responded by saying.
“It appears that it could have been, am saying so now, but am waiting for them to release the name as they did with the assistant DPP.”
There is growing public dissatisfaction on how the matter is being handled, with supporters of the ruling party openly calling on its leaders to have the Senator stand down until the investigation is over.
On Tuesday, the Opposition leader Dr Godwin Friday was thrown out of parliament for what he called “Raising the most reasonable objection.” His comment was about a request for the Senator to vacate the house until the investigation is over.
