The Tribune

By FARRAH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

THE Court of Appeal yesterday adjourned the substantive hearing of the appeals of three men who are seeking to challenge the convictions and sentences they received after they were tried for the robbery and murder of a schoolteacher in 2015.

Johnny Mackey, Armando Sergeant and another man—whose name has been withheld as he was arraigned as a minor—were charged with the murder, attempted murder and attempted armed robbery of former Queen’s College elementary teacher Joyelle McIntosh.

Prosecutors said the teenager, who was 17 at the time of the incident, along with Mackey and Sergeant, attempted to rob Ms McIntosh at gunpoint of her 2009 silver coloured Toyota Corolla worth $6,000.

They said that during the failed carjacking, the victim was shot multiple times in her head and body. She later crashed into a wall at the intersection of Parkgate and Village Roads and died of her injuries at the scene.

During the trial, all three men pleaded not guilty to the offences. Nevertheless, after almost two hours of deliberating at the close of the proceedings, a 12-member jury returned a guilty verdict of murder for Mackey and the then 17-year-old.

Sergeant was found not guilty by a vote of eight to four of murder, but was found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.

The jury also returned unanimous guilty verdicts for all three accused on the attempted murder, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and attempted armed robbery charges they each faced. However, Senior Justice Bernard Turner dismissed the jury’s unanimous guilty verdict against Sergeant concerning the attempted murder charge, after his attorney challenged it due to it being inconsistent with another conviction stemming from the same matter.

After the trial, Mackey was sentenced to life imprisonment while the then 17-year-old was sentenced at the Queen’s pleasure, a phrase used to describe detention in prison for an indefinite length of time.

Sergeant on the other hand, was remanded to 18 years in prison for manslaughter.

Mackey and the then 17-year-old are now appealing their convictions and sentences while Sergeant is appealing his conviction.

The Crown is also appealing Sergeant’s 18-year prison sentence.

Although the matter was scheduled to be heard before the panel yesterday, counsel for the man who was charged as a minor said they were still waiting to receive a voir dire ruling that involved him from the Supreme Court.

Attorney Ramona Farquharson-Seymour said she would prefer to be in possession of the full ruling before she proceeded because she did not represent the young man during his trial.

Mackey and Sergeant are represented by attorney Christina Galanos. While she told the panel she was in a position to proceed with her clients’ appeals, prosecutor Vernal Collie said he would prefer for all of the appellants to have their cases heard before he presented the arguments of the Crown’s case.

Mr Collie noted the Department of Public Prosecution’s appeal related to sentencing. He said because of this, he wished to have all of the matters heard at the same time.

In view of this, the appellate panel of justices said they would give Mrs Farquharson-Seymour an opportunity to receive the court documents she had requested from the Supreme Court before going any further with the matter.

The substantive hearing for all three cases was subsequently adjourned to September 3 at 10am.