Today, April 13, signifies the fourth anniversary of the maltreatment endured by Cornelius John, a 62-year-old resident of Diamond, within the confines of his own place of residence. The complexities of John’s predicament were revealed following the exposé by (News 784), now known as (St Vincent Times), which reported that he had been shot, physically assaulted, and intimidated on his own premises.
On the afternoon of April 13th, 2021, amidst the eruption of the La Soufrière volcano, John recounted that he was seated on a block in his incomplete porch when three individuals—one woman and two men clad in jeans, t-shirts, masks, and caps—unexpectedly entered his property.
The taller of the men approached him and commenced a series of kicks to his abdomen, which caused him to defecate on himself.
“I could not recognize his face because he was wearing a cap and a mask, so I could not make out who he was. While I was lying in pain on the ground, he pulled 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-old with hypertension recounted that the woman brandished a firearm at his face and issued a chilling warning: “She said should i utter her name in any discussion, she would shoot me in the mouth”. The individual was recognized as Government Senator and Deputy Speaker of the House of Parliament, Ashelle Morgan.
When questioned at that time regarding his ability to recognize Senator Morgan, John responded, ‘It was not difficult to discern her identity.’
“I am familiar with her physique and her manner of speaking; I observed her; she was raised in this vicinity; I have been acquainted with her since her youth; she resides nearby, not far from my location.”
The DPP and Charges
After several months of John’s plight being tried in the court of ‘public opinion, charges were laid against John, and those he said had come to his home uninvited and inflicted what he calls ‘scares for life’.
(DPP) – “Given my assessment of the facts and circumstances, applying legal principles and the Code for Prosecutors, I advised the Commissioner of Police to lay the following charges”:
Threatening Language against Mr. Cornelius John in respect of complaints made by Mrs. Nicole John;
Threatening Language against Mr. Cornelius John in respect of a complaint made by Ms. Ashelle Morgan;
Wounding and Unlawful discharge of firearm against Mr. Karim Nelson in respect of complaints by Mr. Cornelius John; and
Assault with intent to commit Wounding against Ms. Ashelle Morgan in respect of a complaint by Mr. Cornelius John.
The outcome -November 2021
On Thursday, 18 November, Magistrate Bertie Pompey delivered his rulings, affirming the no-case submissions presented on Wednesday, 17 November, by defence attorneys Ronald Marks and Duane Daniel at the conclusion of the prosecution’s case in the trial, which spanned nearly a week.
The magistrate’s acceptance of the no-case submissions resulted in the acquittal of Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Karim Nelson and Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly, government senator Ashelle Morgan, of the criminal charges filed against them in connection with the shooting of 62-year-old businessman Cornelius John at his residence in Diamond on 13 April 2021.
On November 26, 2021, Senator Ashelle Morgan dropped the charges against Cornelius John of Diamond following a week-long trial.
