By EARYEL BOWLEG
Tribune Staff Reporter
ebowleg@tribunemedia.net
A WOMAN testified that her ex-boyfriend sent her a message saying, “You ga dead,” before he came home and stabbed her in the head.
The man, Niko Smith, was charged with causing harm to his former girlfriend of 11 years, Chiquia Rolle. He pleaded not guilty before Senior Magistrate Algernon Allen.
This latest charge adds to two existing counts of assault with a dangerous instrument and damage.
The incident reportedly occurred on September 22, 2024, when Smith is alleged to have assaulted Ms Rolle with a box cutter.
The alleged victim said the two lived together for a year with three children.
Ms Rolle claimed that on the day in question, she received a message from Mr Smith about a gas tank. She returned home and then contacted him, which allegedly led to an argument. Later, while she was cooking, Mr Smith allegedly came home around 4 pm and they argued again.
He had told her to take $50 from his jacket, but when she used it at the grocery store, he demanded it back. He left, and they continued arguing over the phone, which ultimately led her, she claimed, to decide to end the relationship.
Later that evening, the victim claimed Mr Smith came home in a rage, banging on the door. She told her son to let him in, and he entered the house angrily. She alleged that after getting food, he threw it into the neighbour’s yard and stumbled back inside. Ms Rolle, in a room talking to her mother, decided to call the police, explaining that she feared for her safety, saying, “When he’s in a rage, he puts his hands on me.”
She claimed that Mr Smith then tried to grab her phone, attacking her as she held it against her chest. She said he punched her in the head repeatedly until she was so exhausted that she struck him with the phone.
Ms Rolle claimed that during their struggle, Mr Smith fell, but staggered back up as the children cried in the corner. She alleged that he then drew an object resembling a pocket knife and came at her, stabbing the headboard before injuring the back of her head. She said he was on top of her, and as she tried to get away, he swung the object again, injuring her hand.
A male neighbour entered into the house through the open door and reportedly asked, “Boy, what are you doing to this girl?” Ms Rolle said Mr Smith told him to leave, but the neighbour refused.
At that point, Mr Smith allegedly ran out the back of the apartment, while Ms Rolle, feeling weak, moved to the steps and fell after throwing an item at him. The neighbour informed her he was calling the police.
When the police arrived, they attempted to take her statement, but she was in pain and needed an ambulance, which took her to the Princess Margaret Hospital.
Under cross-examination, Ms Rolle said Mr Smith appeared intoxicated. She also disclosed that minutes before he arrived, he allegedly texted her, “You gone dead.” She admitted she didn’t see him cut her during the incident.
The matter was adjourned to December 18.
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