The Tribune

By FARRAH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A MAN who admitted harming his ex-girlfriend during a heated argument was yesterday ordered to compensate the woman for her injuries.

Jamal Arlington Rose, 41, appeared before Senior Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans after he punched his ex-girlfriend about the head on March 18.

He admitted his guilt but said he only committed the offence because the woman had damaged his Junkanoo costumes.

The court heard the man’s former lover was at her residence when she and the defendant got into an argument. The prosecution said during the verbal altercation, the accused punched the complainant about her head causing her injuries which required medical attention. After she reported the matter to police, he was arrested.

The court was told the woman’s medical form indicated that she had sustained swelling to her face. According to the prosecution, the report also said the complainant’s injuries were listed as “serious but not likely to terminate fatally”.

During the hearing, the accused told the magistrate he designed Junkanoo costumes for people. He said he had some costume pieces resting in a car in the yard that they did not use.

He claimed the woman took the Junkanoo costumes out of the car and threw them on to the ground “in the open air”, before locking the car. He said when he confronted her about it, an argument ensued and the situation escalated.

In response, Magistrate Vogt-Evans told the defendant nothing he said entitled him to hit the woman. As a result, she accepted his guilty plea and fined him $500 or six months in jail.