Police have charged a man with murder in connection with the Dec. 14 shooting of Paul Prentice in central Road Town.
Kennyata Boynes, 31, of Lower Estate, was charged with murdering Mr. Prentice and attempting to murder Cadeem Thomas, and he appeared in Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
According to Crown Counsel O’Neal Simpson, Messrs. Boynes, Thomas and Prentice were known to associate with each other before the shooting.
Several days before the incident, Mr. Simpson said, Mr. Boynes gave Mr. Thomas an “item” for safekeeping. The item was not kept safely, the prosecutor continued, and it was returned to the defendant a day later.
The day before the shooting, Mr. Boynes had an altercation with Mr. Thomas about the item, and an ultimatum was given, Mr. Simpson said.
On Sunday, Messrs. Thomas and Prentice were hanging out on the porch of Aaron Jeep, Car & Scooter Rentals when they heard what sounded like explosions coming from an alley between the rental shop and a nearby ice cream parlour, he said.
Both looked to see where the shots were coming from: When they did, Mr. Thomas allegedly saw Mr. Boynes standing in the alley shooting a gun at them, according to the prosecutor.
The two alleged victims fled. Mr. Prentice collapsed in the middle of Waterfront Drive, where he was later pronounced dead, and Mr. Thomas ran away towards the Nagico Insurance building, according to Mr. Simpson.
The defendant was said to have fled on foot.
Mr. Boynes was arrested during an investigation into the murder on Dec. 18, when police searched his home and business and found an AK-47 assault rifle and 17 bullets. He was charged with possessing the illegal items and later pleaded guilty, but police didn’t pursue the murder charge at the time.
The defendant’s attorney, Patrick Thompson, said at the time of his plea that there was no evidence that the rifle had been shot or that his client intended to use it.