Man accused of assaulting security guard at New Kingston hotel during COVID curfew freed

St Andrew resident Jared Millwood, who was accused of assaulting a security guard at the Jamaica Pagasus hotel in New Kingston during COVID-19 restrictions in 2021, has been freed.

Millwood, who was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, was acquittal last week in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court after a review of video footage.

Allegations before the court were that Millwood and about 15 other men had an altercation with the security guard at the popular hotel about 1 a.m. on December 28, 2021.

It was alleged that the men were attempting to enter the hotel during a period when a COVID-19 curfew was in place.

The security guard reportedly tried to restrain the men who allegedly beat him profusely and then ran out of the building.

Millwood, who was subsequently charged with assaulting the guard, had maintained from the outset that he was innocent because he was not at the hotel at the time of the incident.

Attorney-at-law Able-Don Foote, who represented Millwood, submitted that he should be freed because it was a classic case of mistaken identity.

Foote pointed out that the case amounted to a paucity of identification evidence as it did not identify Millwood as an assailant.

He argued that the prosecution would be unable to prove the case without the aid of the surveillance footage from the hotel.

Senior Parish Judge Lori-Ann Cole Montague then ordered that the video footage should be brought to court.  

A perusal of the video showed that Millwood was not present during the incident.

The judge then freed Millwood.

- Barbara Gayle

Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.