According to a judgment dated April 16, 2024, the Hon. Mrs Justice Marlene Carter sentenced Jonathan Alexander Woodhouse to 13 years in prison for Wounding With Intent To Do Grievous Bodily Harm to Barshawn Lewis. This follows the sentence of Woodhouse’s co-defendant, Shaun Jackson, who received 31 years in prison for wounding and the murder of Randy Robinson at Carib Café.
The judgment recounted: “Barshawn Lewis and his wife, Patricia Walters, went to Carib Café on the night of 5 May 2023 because Patricia knew someone who was having a party there. They drove to the venue, parked their car nearby and walked over to the café.”
Reportedly, “As Lewis and his wife made their way towards Carib Café, Lewis said something about celebrating his birthday; it was his birthday month, and he raised his arms and, in a loud voice, shouted out, “Boop! Boop! Boop!”
Concerning this, the judgment noted:
The Defendant and two other men were walking in the direction of Lewis and his wife.
It appears, from the evidence presented at trial, that this Defendant or one of the others with him felt that Lewis had disrespected him. The Defendant went back to the car in which he and his friends had arrived and armed himself with a large-bladed weapon or knife.
Based on the judgment, Woodhouse’s co-defendant, Shaun Jackson, “eventually rushed towards Lewis in the bar area within Carib Café.”
Lewis reportedly ran to the DJ area outside, and “Woodhouse, still armed with the large-16 bladed weapon or knife, moved toward the stage area after Lewis.”
According to the judgment, Lewis suffered the following injuries:
(i)10 cm wound to the right forearm on the outer aspect of the right elbow, exposing the elbow joint
(ii)14 cm wound to left bicep muscle, cutting through the muscle on the left upper arm
(iii) 2 cm superficial skin-deep laceration to the left knee
(iv)4 cm superficial scratches to the left side of the back.
The incident affected both Lewis and his wife, according to the Victim Impact Report.
In this report, Lewis’ wife, Patricia Walters said:
…prior to that date I was a carefree woman in a long-term stable relationship.
The unprovoked attacked on Barshawn has had a traumatic effect on myself and Shawn.
It has affected me more mentally than physically.
The Victim Impact Report added that Lewis said:
Though I feel strong mentally I find I worry a lot. I don’t like crowds. I don’t socialize as much as I did and if I go out, I don’t stop out late.
I worry constantly about my wife Patricia, and I am constantly aware of my surroundings.
In addition to the Victim Impact Report, the Court heard the details of a Social Inquiry Report prepared for Woodhouse by the Department of Community Rehabilitation.
The Social Inquiry Report said:
The Defendant is now twenty-nine (29) years old. He was twenty-eight (28) at the date of the offences.
The Defendant is the father of two children, now nine (9) and six (6) years old.
The Defendant was born of a Caymanian father and a Bahamian mother. As a result, he moved between the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas in his early years. He attended educational institutions in both islands and returned to live permanently in the Cayman Islands at age sixteen.
The Defendant considers that he had an ordinary childhood. He did not graduate from high school but has, during one of his periods in custody, achieved City and Guilds qualifications in English and Maths.
The Social Inquiry Report added:
The Defendant first came in contact with the police at the age of seventeen (17) when he was arrested for traffic offences.
He has also been before the Court for various drug offences.
He reported to the Probation Officer that he began smoking Ganja at age thirteen (13).
The Social Inquiry Report continued:
Whilst the majority of Mr. Woodhouse’s previous offending relates to traffic violations and drug possessions, it is significant to note that there is an emerging pattern of violence.
In 2019, Mr. Woodhouse committed an offence of Wounding and was sentenced to twenty-six (26) months imprisonment.
The circumstances of this offence were similar in nature to the current matters whereby Mr. Woodhouse stabbed the victim during a fight in a bar.
Whilst on bail for the above-mentioned Wounding offence, Mr. Woodhouse committed offences of Causing Fear or Provocation of Violence and was later sentenced to a Suspended Sentence (concurrent to the custodial sentence). This relates to incidents of domestic abuse with his former partner/mother of his children.
It is of concern that Mr. Woodhouse’s current offence bears similarities to his previous Wounding matter, suggesting he was not deterred by the sanction imposed nor has he applied the learning from the interventions he was exposed to during that sentence, which included Anger Management and one-to-one supervision.
The Social Inquiry Report concluded:
Reflecting on the offence, Mr. Woodhouse stated he did not go out with any intention to cause harm.
He suggested he should have ‘tried harder’ to get his party to leave.
He added that he felt ‘frightened’, which contributed to his actions.
He further expressed that he ‘feels sorry’ for the victim and has ‘regrets’.
After considering the Social Inquiry Report and Victim Impact Report, the judge said:
The Defendant’s actions on 6 May constitute very serious offending.
This Defendant armed himself before entering a crowded public bar at which a birthday party was in progress.
When the Complainant rushed from the bar area to the stage, pursued by the co-defendant, this defendant advanced to the stage with his weapon in hand.
This was not a case, as suggested to the probation officer by the Defendant, of him taking out the weapon when he was punched by Lewis as Lewis tried to defend himself from attack. Lewis was never the aggressor.
The judge added:
This Defendant delivered the chops that led to the Complainant’s injuries.
The Complainant and his wife, who witnessed the incident and had to come to her partner’s immediate assistance to take him away from the area bloodied and afraid, have both suffered psychological harm because of the Defendant’s actions, and they may continue to do so for some time.
The judge continued:
The starting point is twelve (12) years in custody.
As outlined above, there are a number of aggravating factors.
These aggravating factors result in an increase to the starting point by eighteen (18) months, 26 taking the sentence to thirteen and a half (13 ½) years in custody.
I have considered the factors offered as mitigation on behalf of this Defendant.
Taking these into account, the sentence will be reduced by six (6) months.
The judge concluded:
I consider that the appropriate sentence in this case is one of thirteen (13) years imprisonment.
The Defendant has been in custody for this offence since 11 May 2023. The time that the Defendant has spent in custody from that time is to be deduced from the above sentence. It is agreed that as of today, he will have served three hundred and forty (340) days in custody since his arrest.
The probation officer has noted the Defendant will be able to access rehabilitative interventions while in custody. I can only invite the Defendant to avail himself of these facilities.
