He shot and killed his common-law wife, a woman police constable, on Sunday and today ken young was formally charged. This afternoon the 32 year old was arraigned before Chief Magistrate Herbert Lord for manslaughter and manslaughter by negligence for killing WPC Myrna Lopez. He was also charged with two counts of aggravated assault for hitting Robert Dominguez and Andrew Armstrong with his gun. Young didn't say much in court, but this afternoon his attorney Dickie Bradley said that rather than trying to kill Lopez, Ken Young was trying to save the WPC.
Richard "Dickie" Bradley, Defense Attorney
"You can't be charged with the two and I pointed out to the Chief Magistrate just now that since it is a matter that will go to the Supreme Court, it will allow some time for the prosecution to clarify and rectify that matter, otherwise at some stage I will clearly have to ask the Chief Magistrate to strike out one of them. You can't charge a person for murder and murder by mistake or something like that. So that will be clarified.
The word of until very early this morning was that they would have charged him for murder but the witnesses, the number of witnesses up at the village, based on what they have been telling the police, it is clear that this whole thing is an unfortunate accident. Somebody has died, they have lost their life, but it doesn't mean that in fact Mr. Young intentionally intended to do that.
In fact as it turned out, from the evidence from the information coming out of the eyewitnesses who were literally just a few feet from what occurred, that in fact Mr. Young was attempting to defend the WPC who was under provocation and attack and this is when we understand a firearm went off and this unfortunate thing occurred."
Keith Swift,
And then with the accident, was your accident rushing to go to the hospital or something like that when he crashed into the lamppost?
Richard "Dickie" Bradley,
"Yes. Yesterday when I spoke to him and tried to get a sense of what was his side of the story, when he realized that in fact his companion, the WPC, had been shot, he and another friend immediately put her into his vehicle and they were rushing down to Belize City to try to get her to the hospital as quick as possible when one thing led to the other. So the whole thing is just unfortunate Keith."
Bail can be offered for manslaughter but, in this case, Lord denied bail. Bradley intends to apply to the Supreme Court for bail within the next week. One of the reasons why Bradley says Ken Young doesn't belong in jail is because he has a medical condition. Bradley says Young was beaten to within inches of death in May of this year and he is still recovering. Bradley says his client simply won't survive in prison.
Richard "Dickie" Bradley,
"Mr. Young was receiving treatment from doctors from May of this year and in fact I am very worried because I don't think he is in any kind of condition to stand the rigors of Kolbe at this stage."
Keith Swift,
Treatment for what?
Richard "Dickie" Bradley,
"He was attacked sometime in May and he was repeatedly hit over his head with objects and he has been seeing a doctor for that and that history is there at the hospital; his prescription, the medication, and so on."
