Wakima Lettsome, an inmate accused of attacking two prison officers, appeared at the Magistrates’ Court on Friday to face two charges of assaulting an officer and one charge of being armed with an offensive weapon.
Crown Counsel Garcia Kelly claimed that on Feb. 15 a door that separated officers from inmates in the recreational area was left unlocked.
Mr. Kelly alleged that the defendant went through the door with a wooden cricket bat and started beating an officer in his back.
Another officer intervened, but initial attempts to restrain Mr. Lettsome proved futile, the prosecutor claimed.
However, with the help of a supervisor, the defendant was finally stopped and pushed back into the recreational area, Mr. Kelly said.
The prosecutor alleged that Mr. Lettsome then struck the intervening officer in the chest.
The officer who was beaten with the cricket bat was taken to Peebles Hospital and treated for back injuries, and the defendant was later taken to the Road Town Police Station and charged, according to the Crown counsel.
The prosecutor alleged that the defendant denied the charges to police, claiming that the prison officer attacked him.
Mr. Lettsome said he is not currently represented by an attorney because the faulty phone lines at the prison have prevented him from contacting one.
He is serving time at Her Majesty’s Prison for the intentional wounding of Jonathan Colaire in 2011.
Mr. Lettsome is scheduled to return to court on Dec. 4 and enter his plea.