Wright guilty in violent home invasion

(CNS): Elmer Wright (26) has been found guilty of five out of six charges against him relating to a horrifying, violent home invasion that took place in Prospect in June 2017. As a result of this serious conviction for robbery, possession of a gun and related crimes, in addition to a guilty verdict against him yesterday for firearms offences and his serious rap sheet, the crown is seeking a life term for the man whom police and prosecutors believe to be one of Cayman’s most dangerous offenders.

Wright was one of four men involved in the home invasion. The owners of the house were sleeping in their bed when three members of the criminal gang of robbers burst into the home, armed with guns and a hammer, and proceeded to subject the couple to a terrifying ordeal.

Their lives were threatened, they were taken from their beds, duct taped to chairs and subjected to insults and sexual taunts as the robbers demanded cash and valuables. The male victim was also struck on the knee with the hammer by one of the robbers, before they finally left the house with around $35,000 worth of cash and valuables.

Following the police investigation several suspects were arrested, and Wright and brothers, Nikel and Cairn Thomas, were arrested. Shane Conner (42) was also arrested but he was not charged until very recently and is now expected to face trial later this year.

One of them four men, Nikel Thomas (24), who had originally pleaded not guilty, admitted to some of the offences during what became a long and twisting trial when new evidence emerged part way through. Police had forgotten to interrogate a phone belonging to Wright, but when the case was adjourned, giving the police a chance to reveal any important evidence, it was eventually admitted into the case.

Even more dramatically, when Caine Thomas (19), who had pleaded guilty at the outset and was committed to appearing as a witness for Wright to say he was not involved, made a complete u-turn.

He asked to see the police while the case was underway last year, and told them he had not been truthful about Wright not being involved and had been falsely accused, as Thomas had said in a previous statement. He said he wanted to tell the truth and give evidence for the prosecution because he was sick of Wright’s constant threats.

While Thomas’ evidence proved very important, it was not the only thing on which the judge said he had based his guilty verdicts. As he read his verdict judgment, Justice Roger Chapple, who heard the case alone without a jury, explained that much of Thomas’ account was supported by other evidence. That included Wright’s DNA found on the door handle of the stolen car used in the robbery, as well as the clothes police recovered during the investigation, which were connected to the crime.

There was also CCTV evidence and phone evidence, which the judge said he found especially compelling, all of which helped to support Thomas’ account and ultimately the guilty verdict against Wright.

Wright is expected to return to court Friday, when a sentencing hearing will continue. The crown will be pressing for Justice Chapple to impose a discretionary indeterminate life sentence with a minimum term that Wright should serve before any consideration for parole would be given.

The Thomas brothers are both facing different circumstances regarding their roles in the crime and are expected to be sentenced individually in March.