Murder accused charged with assaulting cop while in Court

A Morvant man accused of killing 22-year-old Andre Linsay appeared yesterday before Port-of-Spain Magistrate David Harris charged with assaulting an officer while in custody.

Nigel “Duffo” Mayers, 30, unemployed, of Pelican Road Extension, Morvant, was charged with assaulting PC David Westfield, officer assigned to the Court, in the execution of his duties. The charge was laid by Cpl Dowlatt who is also assigned to the Court. Mayers, represented by defence attorney Joseph Melville, pleaded not guilty to the charge.The scuffle began while prisoners were leaving the 4th Court after having their matters adjourned by Magistrate Melvin Daniel. The silence of the court was broken by the shouts of one of the prisoners. The melee then began as PC Beard, PC Timothy, PC Westfield and Cpl Dowlatt attempted to subdue the prisoner. Loud banging and muffled obscene utterances could be heard. Officers had a battle on their hands before Mayers was subdued.

Magistrate Daniel immediately rose and stood down the Court proceedings. The fray, which lasted approximately one minute, ended with the intervention of officers assigned to other courts. When Mayers, who reportedly has a bullet lodged in his left side,  appeared yesterday evening he walked with a distinct limp and his right eye appeared to be swollen as it constantly twitched. PC Westfield was treated and discharged after sustaining a minor bruise on his face. Newsday was informed that there was unusual difficulty in controlling prisoners yesterday as there were over 80 prisoners and approximately 20 officers assigned to the court. The matter was adjourned to August 18. Mayers was involved in another scuffle with police as he was being led into the prisoners’ escort vehicle at around 6.45 last night.