| Castro Trio Cleared Of Harm Charge |
| Mon, January 29, 2018 |
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Back in August of last year, it made big news when Minister Edmond Castro's 21 year-old son, Jafari, was jointly charged with harm along with 21 year-old James Young Jr. and 18 year-old Gilbert Franklin Jr. They were accused of putting a beatdown on 21 year-old Kevin Brown, a resident of Camalote, who ended up hospitalized in a serious condition. The charges followed weeks of media and police intrigue - where many questions were asked about why they hadn't been charged. It culminated in the most intensely covered arraignment for the minor charge of "harm" in the history of the courts.
And, tonight, what started out with a bang has ended with a whimper.
The 3 accused, Castro, Young and Franklin are accused no more. That's because the case was set for trial today before Senior Magistrate Aretha Ford. They showed up to face the case, but the complainant, Kevin Brown did not.
So, with no main witness to testify, the prosecution could not proceed. Senior Magistrate Ford was therefore obliged to dismissed the case, and all 3 men were set free.
As we reported, they were being accused of a harming Brown during fight on the island of San Pedro, which happened during the Costa Maya Festival weekend.
Initial police investigation was that Kevin Brown was at a hotel with some friends when he got into a fight over a piece of jewelry. Things escalated when Brown was kicked and then knocked out with a fire extinguisher. He had to be airlifted from the island's polyclinic a Belize City hospital.
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