Committal hearing rescheduled for man accused of shooting cop

WESTERN BUREAU:

The planned committal hearing for Kirk ‘Kirky’ Lawson, the St James man who is accused of shooting and injuring a policeman during a gun battle in February, has been rescheduled for July 21 in the St James Parish Court.

The committal hearing, which had previously been scheduled for yesterday, was rescheduled after Lawson’s attorney Michael Hemmings was presented with a committal bundle of documents from the prosecution during yesterday’s hearing.

Lawson, who has been in the custody of the police since the alleged incident, was not present in court, as he was also scheduled to appear in the Western Regional Gun Court on another matter.

It was revealed in court that the statements in the document bundle, which were handwritten, are to be typed ahead of the July 21 committal hearing.

According to reports, on February 18 at 9:50 p.m., a police team was on patrol duty along Railway Lane in Montego Bay when they saw Lawson walking along the roadway. His actions aroused their suspicion and, when they approached him, Lawson opened gunfire at the lawmen.

A shootout ensued, during which a member of the police team was shot and injured. The wounded policeman was subsequently taken to the Cornwall Regional Hospital for treatment.

It is further reported that Lawson later turned up at the same hospital with a gunshot wound and was subsequently placed under police guard. Following a question-and-answer session in the presence of his attorney, Lawson was formally charged on February 28.

Lawson, who is also on a separate charge of murder in relation to the October 7, 2022, shooting death of auto sales representative Deveto Barnett, was not brought before the St James Parish Court when his Gun Court matter, in relation to Barnett’s death, was previously heard on March 10. He was first brought before the parish court on April 18 in relation to his present charges.