Gunman evades harsher charge with guilty plea

| 31/01/2018 | 1 Comment

(CNS): A 35-year-old man from George Town has been sentenced to eight years in jail for the possession of a shotgun. But Kevin Curtis Bowen, aka ‘Plantain’, evaded what could have been a much longer time in jail after attempted murder charges were dropped against him when he admitted having the gun. Prosecutors had originally filed the more serious charge against Bowen because they believed he shot a man with the weapon following an altercation at a fish-fry in Rock Hole in 2016, which led to the victim losing his hand and lower arm.

Outlining the agreed facts of the case and the basis of plea that Bowen had made, prosecuting counsel Scott Wainwright told the court that Bowen had engaged in a disagreement with a man while at the fish-fry event.

He left the scene and returned sometime later with a second man and armed with the shotgun. Bowen had then approached the man he had previously argued with, put the shotgun to his head and threatened him. The victim pulled a knife and pushed it into Bowen’s stomach and pushed away the gun. Bowen then walked away.

According to the victim, he too turned away. But after a few minutes he heard a shot, and when he turned around he heard a second shot and then realised he had been injured. He found someone to take him to hospital and was later airlifted to Jamaica. Eventually his lower arm and hand were amputated as a result of the injury from the shotgun.

Bowen, however, denied being the one who pulled the trigger, although he has never revealed the other man’s name or indicated who it was that shot the victim. He pleaded guilty to possessing the firearm but denied the attempted murder charges. With no witnesses and no forensic evidence to tie Bowen to the actual shooting, the crown accepted the plea and opted not to try Bowen over the attempted murder allegation.

The judge said he accepted the basis of the plea and sentenced Bowen to eight years after considering the evidence and established facts. During the sentencing hearing the court noted a social inquiry report that outlines Bowen’s abusive childhood and a period of criminality in which he was misusing drugs, but in the last ten years until this incident, Bowen had been largely crime-free, turning his life around and settling down to a job and family life.

Justice Charles Quin raised his concerns again about the number of young men in Cayman getting involved with guns and the increasing loss of life, as well as the mounting robberies. He told Bowen that he still had a chance to get his life back on track, and when he had served his time he should stay away from guns and the people with them.

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Category: Courts, Crime

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  1. West bay Premier says:

    The Judge gave him real good advice, maybe others like him should take that advise
    the Judge gave too , stay away from guns, and people with guns .

    14

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