The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net FREEPORT - Lawyer Brian Hanna said Glinton Louis is satisfied with the manslaughter verdict and that jurors did not find him guilty of murder. "It was a fair verdict," Hanna said. "A death has occurred; someone got killed, but the jury determined that there was no intention to kill Markinson Justin. "Louis is satisfied he is not branded a murderer and we will have to now deal with the sentencing on April 20." Mr Hanna has requested that a probation report on Louis be conducted before sentence is passed. He said they intend to ask the court to consider the state of affairs and circumstances that played a role in what had happened. On July 12, 2011, Louis, 32, was driving a gold-coloured Buick Century when he struck and killed Justin. He did not stop. He was taking his girlfriend, Coletor Johnson, to work and had stopped at the junction of Explorer's Way and East Atlantic Drive when Johnson's ex-boyfriend approached the vehicle and attacked her. Justin, 23, died of his injuries and the pair was charged with his murder. The trial opened on Monday in the Supreme Court. After the prosecution closed its case on Wednesday, Senior Justice Hartman Longley determined that there was no evidence against Johnson and instructed the jury to return a not guilty verdict in her favour. Johnson, 23, was called as a witness in Louis' defence on Thursday. The jury found Louis not guilty of murder by a vote of 12-0, but found him guilty of manslaughter by vote of 8-4. Maltide Time, mother of the victim, said Louis had no right to kill her son. "When you have a problem with someone, you don't have the right to knock them down, and Mackinson never had a problem with (Louis)," she said. Mr Hanna said Louis was never in any trouble before. He thinks that a fair sentence would be in the range of two to three years. "He is a quiet young man and deserves to be reprimanded and cautioned, not punished," he said following the outcome of the trial. Hanna said that trouble came to Louis' doorstep when he became involved with a young woman, who had been in an abusive relationship with a man for whom she had a child. During her evidence on Thursday, Johnson told the court that she ended her relationship with Justin after he became very abusive. She said that she never told Louis about her tumultuous relationship with Justin before they became involved. She said Justin would not leave her alone and continued to threaten and harass her and Louis, who she had been dating for three months. Johnson said she reported him to the police on two occasions and had him bound over to keep the peace, but he continued to harass her. She was scared, so would often stay with Louis at his apartment. She said on the morning of July 12, Louis was taking her to work after dropping her daughter off with the baby sitter. They were at the junction of East Atlantic Drive and Explorer's Way when Justin ran toward the car and started hitting her. Johnson said another vehicle was in front of them and Louis could not move. When the vehicle moved, she said Louis turned left and drove off. She said Louis turned around and said they were going to the police station to report the matter. As they were driving, she said Justin ran across the road and jumped on the car. Everything happened so fast, she said. After Justin was struck, they went directly to the Police Station to report the incident, Johnson said. Under cross-examination by prosecutors, Johnson said she did not tell Louis to stop the car and they did not call an ambulance because she was scared and in fear for her life. She denied assertions by prosecutors that Justin was still supporting her and that she continued to see him while she was in a relationship with other men.