Man in court for stepson’s murder

Joel Pompey, 59, of Peaseville, Upper Seventh Avenue appeared before Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar to face one count of murder, one count of possession of an illegal firearm, two counts of possession of ammunition and one count of attempted murder.

The charges were laid indictably and as such Pompey was not called upon to enter a plea. As the charge of murder is non-bailable, the accused will remain in custody pending the outcome of the case. In addition to these offences, Pompey was also charged with assault of Constables Cato and WPC Ramdeen while in custody at the Morvant police station. On these two charges, Pompey entered a guilty plea.

Court prosecutor, Sgt Benjamin submitted to the court the items recovered from the scene which included a firearm, seven rounds of ammunition, a black-coloured cloth and a purple- coloured piece of plastic.

Pompey, a retired employee of the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA), was expected to appear in court on Wednesday but complained of feeling unwell.

Pompey was expected to return to court following a medical examination at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital, but was unable to do so due to delays at the Hospital.

Pompey was arrested and charged for the murder of his 15-year-old stepson Josiah Martinez who was shot dead on December 16, at the family’s Barataria home. The case was adjourned to January 26