Alberto Rosa de la Rosa, an entertainer who performs under the name Piyoyo, appeared at the High Court on Tuesday to face accusations that he fatally stabbed a man during a bar fight in Sea Cows Bay that was allegedly sparked by a joke.
Senior Crown Counsel Valston Graham said the deceased, Riky Dennis Bautista Familia, went to the bar with his friends on the evening of Nov. 16, 2012.
The prosecutor claimed that Mr. Familia encountered the defendant at the bar, and made what he believed were humorous comments.
“We say the accused, Mr. de la Rosa, took offence to those comments,” Mr. Graham explained.
The defendant allegedly reacted by pulling a knife, waving it in the victim’s face, and cutting part of his neck, Mr. Graham added.
When the victim realised he had been injured, he hit the defendant with a beer bottle, the prosecutor said.
Mr. Graham alleged that the defendant responded by stabbing Mr. Familia in the chest with his knife.
Both men then exited the bar, and the owner locked the door, according to the Crown.
The victim collapsed outside and died, Mr. Graham said, but the defendant briefly broke back into the bar and brandished his knife at others until a bar patron ran him off with a pool stick.
Mr. de la Rosa remained at large for more than a year after the incident, but he was extradited from New York in 2014.
He is represented by defence attorney Patrick Thompson.
See the Oct. 8, 2015 edition for full coverage.