Court orders counselling for West Ruimveldt man accused of threatening mother

Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry on Monday referred Akeem Charles, who was accused of cursing and threatening to kill his mother, for counselling.

At the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, it was alleged that on July 17 and July 18, respectively, Charles, 20, of 639 West Ruimveldt, used threatening and abusive language to his mother, Alicia Charles.
Additionally, the miner was accused of unlawfully and maliciously damaging a pipe and fittings, valued $12,000 and which belonged to his mother.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the three charges when they were read to him. According to Alicia Charles, her son repeatedly threatens and abuses her.

Charles initially pleaded guilty to damaging his mother’s pipe and fittings. In his explanation, however, he said that the pipe had been damaged by cows that had trampled on it for some time. The court then entered a not guilty plea to this charge.

The prosecution’s case is that the defendant was told by his mother to repair the pipe, which he had damaged but he refused to do so.

When given a chance to speak, the complainant told the court that her son had been repeatedly abusive to her and would constantly make threats to kill or injure her and members of the household. She added that the defendant verbally abuses his stepfather and threatens to “burst-up” everyone’s head in the house, including his infant brother.

According to the woman, she was rebuking her son about his behaviour on July 18, when he stormed out of the house in anger and damaged the pipe.

The woman noted, however, that she loved her son and did not want to “see him turn out bad.” She said that he had no stable job and she had advised him to either join the police force or the army but he has made no serious attempts at seeking employment.

The tearful woman told the court that her son does not assist with chores around the house but presents himself when it is time to eat, at which point he was respectful towards her.

Charles, when asked if she wanted to proceed with the matters against her son told the court, “No. I would just like my son to stay away from me. He does threaten and handle me. I didn’t want to bring him here but I had no choice.”

She asked the magistrate to warn her son and firmly asserted, “I want nothing to do with him.”

The court acceded to the complainant’s request. Additionally, the Chief Magistrate ordered counselling services for the young man.

Meanwhile, the defendant alleged that he was beaten by the police while in custody—an allegation the court ordered the prosecution to investigate.