Accused man marked not-guilty in Portmore murder case

Jamaica: An accused man of murder after an argument in Portmore was freed from the charges after his last appearance in the court for a hearing. The accused man was assisted to the Saint Catherine Circuit Court for trial on Thursday, 11 July, when the verdict was given in his favour. The suspect was not found guilty of the murder, and the incident was marked as an act of self-defence.

The accused man, who is now freed from the allegation of intended murder in Portmore, is identified by his official name, Mark Mitchell. The man whose case of murder was under the process of trial was identified by his documented name, Mikel Thomas, who was normally called by everyone as Zekes. Mikel Thomas and Mark Mitchell, both belong to the Portmore town of Saint Catherine parish in Jamaica.

As per the reports on the Portmore murder case, the incident dates back to the year 2018, when the victim was found dead, and the case was filed by the police department. It is said that the suspect and victim were both together on the day of the crime on 12 October 2018. While they were together, the men got involved in a tussle that followed after a disagreement between both parties over a subject.

Reportedly, the physical tussle between Mikel and Mark turned violent to a level where the suspect got armed and stabbed the victim, which led to his death. Subsequently, the information of the crime in the locality of Portmore was informed to the law protection unit, after which a team of policemen got alerted. The victim was escorted to the hospital, where he was examined and declared dead officially.

After filing the case of a murder, the accused Portmore resident was taken into custody after the arrest. The suspect was charged with the allegation of murder and was presented in court. In every appearance in the court, till then, the accused maintained his stand of being not guilty. Denise Hinson, the attorney of the accused man, stated that the act was a step taken by his client for self-defence.

Justice Yvonne Brown, the judge of the Saint Catherine Circuit Court, heard the arguments in the 2018 murder case of Portmore. The prosecution was not able to situate any reason behind the intention of murder of the victim by the accused. Eventually, the verdict was passed by the judge, and the accused man was declared not guilty and ordered to be set free.