Teen charged with Coast Guard murder
A 19-year-old Ordinary Seaman stationed at the Coast Guard headquarters, Staubles Bay, Chaguaramas, will appear at the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court today charged with the murder of fellow Ordinary Seaman Stephen Hodge. Director of Public Prosecutions, Geoffrey Henderson, gave instructions yesterday that charges be laid as a result of the evidence presented to him. Although Coast Guard officials had issued a press release claiming that the death was accidental, police stated that death was not accidental. According to reports, Hodge was shot dead on Friday night by a colleague who accidentally bounced the butt of a gun on a bedpost. The gun was an Israeli made Galil-assault rifle. Hodge’s family claimed that he was shot during an argument over a stolen cell phone, while another source claimed it was over a woman. An autopsy confirmed that death was due to shock and haemorrhaging consistent with a bullet wound through the upper lip that entered the head and caused major damage. After a service at 10 am on Wednesday at the Church of Assumption in Maraval, Hodge will be buried at the Military Cemetery, Long Circular, St James. Insp George Olivere laid the charge.
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"Teen charged with Coast Guard murder"