A TWENTY four-year-old Linden resident was yesterday placed on $20,000 by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan for the stabbing of a police officer in 2014.Sherwin Benjamin of 232 South Amelia’s Ward, Linden, who is the owner of a taxi service, was charged with the offence alleging that on Friday, October 24, 2014 at the McKenzie Market Tarmac, Linden, he unlawfully and maliciously wounded Damien McFarlane.
Benjamin had been on an indictable charge, but on application by Police Prosecutor Corporal Deniro Jones, the Administration of Justice Act (AJA) was applied and the defendant pleaded not guilty.
Benjamin’s attorney explained that his client has been wrongfully charged, since he was not the one who stabbed McFarlane. However according to the police facts narrated by the prosecutor,on the day in question the suspect approached McFarlane, pulled out a sharp object from his pocket and dealt the man a stab to his chest which caused him to receive a punctured lung.
The chief magistrate questioned why Benjamin was being charged almost a year after the crime and the prosecutor explained that the suspect had managed to evade the police on several occasions. Also, the matter had to be sent for legal advice.
The matter was transferred to the Linden Magistrates Court for November 17 and Benjamin was granted bail after the prosecutor made no objections.