It was a beastly report in 2003 when 25-year-old Jason Gillett and Saul Navarro were accused of chopping off 20-year-old Baltazar Chable's finger and beating him until he was unconscious with a baseball bat in July of 2003. They called it self-defense but the police called it attempted murder. Yesterday a jury in the Corozal Supreme Court agreed that both men were guilty of dangerous harm.
The incident occurred on the night of July 27th 2003 on 5th Avenue in Corozal Town. In court Chable said he was simply riding his bicycle when he stopped to fix the chain and that is when he was attacked. He alleged that he was beaten and he put up his hands to protect his head and that's when his finger was chopped. The trauma sent Chable into a coma and he awoke a day later in the KHMH.
Both Gillett and Navarro took the stand in their own defense. Gillett admitted he chopped Chable but he said it was in self-defense because Chable's friend was armed. Navarro meanwhile said he played no part in the attack. He said he was simply in the area at the time.
Still, the jury convicted both men of dangerous harm. They convicted Gillett of attempted murder but were hung on the attempted murder charge against him. Both men will be sentenced on March 26th by Justice Herbert
Lord.
We should note that this is the former Chief Magistrate's first full criminal trial since his appointment to the Supreme Court bench. Tracy Sosa was the prosecutor.
