LANDLADY BITES OFF MAN’S FINGER OVER RENT
Alandlord who bit off a man’s index finger in row over rent was denied bail when she appeared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court yesterday.
Shamella Powell was charged with assault occasioning bodily harm.
Allegations are that on October 30, Powell used a machete to beat her tenant in the head after he refused to pay his rent. It is reported that she was taken to the police station where she was charged and granted station bail.
Moments after she was granted bail, it is alleged that Powell attacked a man who was assisting her tenant to move his belongings from the premises. It is reported that she bit off the man’s left index finger in the second attack.
SELF-DEFENCE
However, Powell’s lawyer, Ian Davis, said that his client was acting in self-defence as she was attacked by the tenant and the man who lost his index finger during the ordeal.
“Your Honour, for some reason the police did not take a statement from her,” Davis said.
Showing the court a picture bearing an image of Powell with a bruised face, Davis said that the man who lost his index finger bit Powell in the face.
The complainant admitted to the accusation, saying that he did it while Powell was sinking her teeth in his finger.
Presiding Judge Judith Pusey jokingly asked if it was a ‘biting contest’.
In his bail application, Davis said that his client has four kids, the youngest being four years old, and she has no one to attend to them. He said that his client has been in custody since the beginning of November.
Pusey denied the bail application on the basis that Powell attacked a person while she was on bail.
She is to return to court on December 15.