Police issue warning over use of knives
(CNS): Just “a few seconds of madness” by another man carrying a knife cost 22-year-old Michael Aaron Bush his life last Christmas Eve, Superintendent Peter Lansdown said in the wake of the conviction of Jashawn Johnson (21) last Thursday. Bush was stabbed in the chest by Johnson in a fight that was fuelled by an insignificant altercation and name calling. The incident, which took place at The Strand entertainment complex on West Bay Road, escalated because Johnson had access to a knife, the senior police officer noted.
In a release following the conviction, the police reminded the public that it is illegal to carry an offensive weapon. They said that in the heat of the moment situations can escalate quickly and bad decisions can be made, resulting in life-changing injuries or in the worst cases fatalities, as was demonstrated in this case.
“We thank the witnesses that came forward and gave evidence, which played a vital role in achieving this outcome,” said Superintendent Lansdown. “Although the police are satisfied with the court result, it doesn’t take away from the fact that a young man has lost his life and yet another family from our community has lost their son due to a few seconds of madness with a weapon.”
Johnson was convicted by Justice Roger Chapple on Thursday, following a judge-alone trial in the summer after Johnson claimed self defence. Although the court found that the young man had been provoked by his victim in the first instance, in the end it was Johnson who escalated the situation and sought Bush out with the intention of harming him.
The CCTV shown during the trial clearly shows Bush running from Johnson, who chases him into the car park where the court concluded Johnson inflicted the fatal stab wound.
Having been convicted of murder, Johnson is facing a life sentence. In November the court will indicate the length of time he must serve before being eligible for parole.
- Fascinated
- Happy
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- Afraid
I can’t carry a knife but these heroes in West Bay ride their bikes with machetes in full view day or night!
outstanding stuff from rcips!
next week it will…’be careful shooting bullets, might take an eye out’…..zzzz
There is no family structure in these men’s lives. The only deterrent is to close Northward prison and send them all to Jamaica prison like it use to be. We had very little crime as that was a great deterrent.
Thanks for admiting that back in the days Cayman used to send their prisoners to Jamaica. I also heard that the same was done for mentally ill persons. Any comment on the matter?
Now it’s reversed.
That’s a dumb idea. People commit crime everyday knowing they could get the death penalty or incarceration all over the world.
When Cayman used to send criminals to Jamaica to be executed our population was less than 10,000. Of course our crime was low….there were like 8000 people here in the 60s. do you think the amount of crime would be the same at ~70,000. Use your head.
So imagine, with a population of <10000 and 5he threat of being sent to Jamaica to be executed, we still had Caymanians committing murders. So obviously it wasn't much of a detterance.
I'm assuming all the comments claiming that Cayman was crime free because we sent criminals to jam are yours. I don't know why you are so obsessed with capital punishment but you clearly don't know what you are talking about. especially as far as crime goes in the Cayman islands. If you are going to promote killing people as a form of law enforcementat atleast Justify it with statistics, some kind of data. There are idiots out there that will read your bs and not realize how stupid it is and actually believe your nonsense.
When these young guys are killed its the Family that is left here to suffer and their lives will forever be shattered. He lost his life over a simple argument and being in the wrong place at the wrong time. No one has the right to choose to end someone’s life and destroy the lives of the Family.
These guys need to learn the value of someone’s life. I hope this guy is haunted with guilt for the rest of his life.
It’s also the parents job to raise moral humans.
My mother told me little boys shouldn’t play with knives.
and…’Always tell your mummy
before you go off somewhere’
So what are the RCIPS suggesting – its not assaulting people that is the issue, its using a weapon?
Are you dumb? The only thing they are suggesting is that if a knife was not present during this interaction that a man might not have been stabbed to death. That is all. Atno point did they indicate that assualt is not an issue. Did you even read the article?
Note to all the waste men in cayman especially the so called “cmk” central boys y’all need to get a job and be something in life and stop following the us gangster lifestyle because when times get really hard don’t complain and cry about why your life is the way it is just simply go look for work and act like a normal human being and stop acting like a little child!
The cns comment section wont alter the cayman gang culture one bit…get out there and do something, only if you care though. #keyboardchamp
Why dont you help them find jobs and teach them how to act like a real man? If they can get up and smoke weed,snort coke,bum people,fight and go clubbing all the time why can’t they use all of that energy to at least try and get a job? It really is pathetic that these grown men from the Scranton/central area still in this day and age act like waste men with a mind of a teenager who clearly don’t want nothing out of life but being useless and serve no purpose in life!
You can’t, simple as that. They’re accustomed to it. Unless you put them in rehab or jail-good luck!
Many people from all over the world that live in Cayman use to live in poverty way worst than them central boys and they still have something going for themselfs why can’t they do the same? They should feel blessed enough to be from cayman and not a dangerous country that has real serious poverty and crime.
Complain then change or die hard. They complained! Can you comprehend?
I thought it was illegal to carry a knife in a public place, such as a bar, but okay elsewhere, as long as it wasn’t a fixed blade knife, a switchblade, a “gravity knife” (also called a drop knife), and the blade was equal to or less than 3.5 inches??
Some clarification might be useful. I know several carpenters and those in the trades who carry a knife every day, myself included.
3 categories – prohibited weapons (includes flick knives and gravity knives), offensive weapons (any weapon designed to injure or a cutting instrument intended to be used for that purpose – so for example carrying a Stanley knife with intent to use it as a weapon) and restricted weapons, which includes any machete or knife irrespective of why you are carrying it.
Prohibited weapons – offence to even possess it. Offensive weapon – offence to have it outside the home at any time. Restricted weapon – offence to carry it a) at night AND) in certain places, such as public places, night clubs, certain car parks).
So you are perfectly free to carry a knife or machete used for a legitimate purpose at any time during the day (provided you are not carrying it with the intention to use it to injure someone). But if you carry it at night to any of the listed places you are committing an offence irrespective of why you have it. So no carrying you r machete or Stanley knife into Fosters or a nightclub 😉
In addition to that which Jotnar so kindly provided, the 2017 Penal Code http://gov.ky/portal/pls/portal/docs/1/12420375.PDF, pages 41 and 42, Section 83 2a reads:
“(2) Nothing in this Law shall prevent –
(a) any person from carrying a clasp knife, provided that it has not a
blade of more than four inches in length whether ending in a sharp
point or not provided that it is not so constructed as to be
convertible by means of a spring or other device into a dagger,
flick knife, gravity knife or knife with a fixed blade; or
(b) any constable from wearing or carrying any firearm, sword or
staff issued for the purposes of his duty.”
Bunch of punks. Get jobs and behave, stop trying to be bad men, you won’t be a bad men in Prison, try to use common sense, if you have any, and think of tomorrow before during something that will be regrettable for the rest of life.
Interesting! We thought it was only in Jamaica we were having those issues.
It was only Jamaica. Then we allowed baby daddies (often from Jamaica) to spread their spawn with no accountability, including through refusal to enforce the Maintenance Act.