"This is a case of circumstantial evidence," Kendall said. "And the court cannot find that the government has proven ... that the defendant committed the offense for which he has been charged. There has been no testimony indicating that anyone saw the defendant with a knife."

Wait, I thought this was detainment hearing, not the trial. Does the governement need now to prove his guilt at the detainment hearing? If so, what would be the point of the trial?

Nobody saw it - not even the security camera over the scene......(sigh).

But, they did see Thomas run out after Jamie - after they'd had a fight inside - and then Jamie was dead - and the witness saw Thomas lave the scene in the getaway car?

Ok, so he'll be out - albeit with a bracelet.

I read that he was dancing in his chair in the courtroom - jerking his body like he was hearing music. He sounds sane - NOT. I'm sure he'll obey the bracelet-NOT .

I also read that prior to coming to STJ, he had been living on Tortola - not in Atlanta. He was born in Atlanta, but was living in Tortola. He has an 8th grade education and this is not his first arrest.

Did they PROVE the witness intimidation case? He got the $25k surety bond on that case, right?

Good grief. Now he'll be free. I suppose this is a very good glimpse into the future - and any chance of successful prosecution. The case must be very, very poor for this to have happened...

From another aticle I found on an unrelated murder case.. In this case, the suspects are police officers. Notice the bail - $100k and $200k....

"While it is unusual for people charged with first-degree murder to be released on bail, District Attorney Eddie Jordan said in court that he agreed with the decision. The bail announcement was made in open court after a closed-door meeting between Bigelow, defense attorneys, Jordan and his prosecutors.

Two officers posted bail earlier this week. Officer Michael Hunter, charged with two counts of attempted murder, was released on $200,000 bail. Ignatius Hills, charged with one count of attempted murder, was free on a $100,000 bond.

Here is a detailed article of the events of the crime, from the affidavit......

http://www.virginislandsdailynews.com/index.pl/article_home?id=17613003

Thomas admitted to chasing Cockayne with the intention of harming him. Then the witness saw Jamie emerge from behind a wall, bleeding.....calling after his attackers. Then Jamie collapsed - and died.

Click the article.

Bluwater,
I hate to admit this but last week when I read that Kendall was the Judge on this I didn't think it would go well. He is symptomatic of the problems with the legal/law enforcement in the islands. I do believe the boy deserves a fair trial, but a reasonable bond or incarceration until trial would not be out of order for this type of crime. I suspect CNN and the likes will have a field day with this bond hearing. I can hear Greta's screeching voice already, "oh the injustice poor tourist dead, thug out on bail". It is sad that it is playing out in the press like this, but if there is a bright side it may take this kind of negative press to facilitate real change in the system.
Jay

PS What happend to the complaints about Kendall, it time for him to go.

Judge Kendall from the Source:

http://www.onepaper.com/stthomasvi/?v=d&i=&s=Commentary:Editorials&p=1153545626

Yes, this Judge just gave the national media more negative Virgin Islands news to report!

Captain Jay,
I have to wonder if, in this case, the problem is Kendall's lenient stance....or if the problem is that the case has been botched so badly that there really isn't a case.

Sadly, I suspect the latter. I think this is a preview of how this will end.

I wonder if Thomas will be allowed to wear his bracelet and go to work, as is often the case with bracelets and house arrest. He claimed to have been a "fisherman".

So the guy charged with intimidating a witness had to post surety of $25,000, which actually requires a pledge of property valued at twice that amount. And yet the guy charged with killing Jamie can walk after posting $7500.00? Is there no end to the insanity with this case?

And I agree with an earlier post. Judge Kendall has apparently already tried the case and found the defendant not guilty on grounds of circumstantial evidence. Very nice.

I have spent my last dollar in the VI. I have made many trips to the islands...all of them (thankfully) free of any sort of criminal act. But the area has gone downhill over the past few years. And now we see that the police and the judicial system are going to do nothing to stop the slide unless victims and their families invest their time and money in the demand for justice.

Jamie's family has suffered enough. They should not have to face the prospect of their son's killers walking away because police blew the investigation and the judge gets his jollies by letting violent offenders post bail and head right back to their barstool.

I read that the VI Tourism Board has pulled their disaster plan. I think they're going to need it.

Incredible,

The $25k surety bond, which requires 2X that in property, for witness intimidation, was for the alleged killer (Thomas).

He had two separate bails set.

The first, which was the $25k for witness intimidation, was set several days ago. At that point, the prosecution asked for a detention hearing on the 1st degree murder charge - a hearing to determine if Thomas would be held or released on some kind of bail. The detention hearing was apparently held (yesterday) and it was then determined that the evidence does not support holding him - and bail, in that case, was set at $7,500. So, he has two bails...the first degree murder bail at $7,500 and the witness intimidation bail at $25,000.

I'm not sure whether to be more upset at the $7,500 bail for 1st degree murder, or that fact that Kendall has stated that -the case is purely circumstantial and, therefore, Thomas cannot be held. Most murder cases are prosecuted, many successfully, based on circumstantial evidence. It is considered very valid evidence - and judges and juries are expected to apply reasoning to reach a decision.

It seems that Kendall doesn't agree. He thinks that because the evidence is circumstantial, the case doesn't warrant holding Thomas. I guess we may be able to conclude that he also won't feel that the evidence warrants convicting Thomas.

Circumstantial evidence is used to convict killers everyday.

Here's what we've read in multiple newspapers - each seems to corroborate the story at this point...from the police affidavit.

-Boston and Cockayne argue in the bar over Cockayne kicking Boston's jeep
-Boston cracks pool cue over Cockayne's head in the bar (many witnesses saw this)
-Boston kicked out of bar
-Witnesses hold Cockayne back from following him
-Thomas admitted that he wanted "satisfaction" for Boston, so he planned to hurt Cockayne by hitting him with wood from the street
-Cockayne later leaves bar
-Boston and Thomas follow Cockayne (Thomas admitted in the affidavit)
-Boston and Thomas chase Cockayne (Thomas admitted this - 911 calls are being made by witnesses who are telling 911 operator that "they're going to hurt a white boy")
-Witness hears Cockayne yell "why don't you just kill me then"
-Separate witness then sees 2 men emerge from behind a wall and run to a car, then leave the scene
-That same witness then sees Cockayne emerges from behind the same wall, yelling after the 2 guys - challenging them. Cockayne is bleeding profusely and collapses
-A witness (not sure who), goes to Cockayne to tend to him and stay with him - that witness calls 911
-Medics arrive - faint signs of life from Cockayne, who was stabbed 7X and hit over the head with wood
-Cockayne transported to medical center - pronounced dead
-Witness identifies Thomas and Boston as having emerged from wall - and identifies getaway car
-Witnesses being threatened - Thomas yells (near Subway in Cruz Bay) to witness "I'll f&$* you up, too!"
-Boston and Thomas give police conflicting stories - Thomas claims that Boston chased Cockayne with him...Boston claims that he went in the other direction when they left the bar - not chasing Cockayne with Thomas
-At least one witness leaves island in fear
-Cockayne family leaves island in fear
-Cockayne family later returns and sees previously identified getaway car being driven around Cruz Bay

Kendall determines there's not enough circumstantial evidence to hold Thomas.

Thanks Blu for the info, but it's depressing.
Kendall's history is well-documented. One of his
most stunning moves was to release a suspect
to the streets of St. John who then went on to
abduct and murder a 12 year old girl.

How does this guy keep his job?

captainvic

captainvic, Kendall released the man who murdered the 12-year-old girl to the streets of St. Thomas, where the murder happened -- not St. John.

Bluwater...thanks for the clarification. I thought the second guy arrested also had bail set at $25.000 for witness intimidation.

As for Judge Kendall, I hope these latest acts of negligence on his part are his undoing. I've been reading about him. He appears to be held in utter contempt by the locals (except for those who benefited from his lenient bail policy toward violent offenders.) And now, he has the eyes of a much larger audience on him. He doesn't seem to care at the moment. I hope he is equally nonplussed about the whole thing when he has to ask Kemal Thomas' uncle for a job on his fishing boat.

well if he is the "murderer" like You Folks claim him to be why havn't the police interviewed any of the alibi witnessES, not witness, like his attorney said. obviously i know more about this situation than any of you do and i feel that the police are not telling the truth about alot of things and because of the pressure, grabbed someone that would be an easy target to "satisfying" the media, the cockayne family and the americans. i believe thomas is another person unfortunatly caught up in the mix. i think police should also look into the behavior of the late cockayne because ive heard from good sources that he wasnt no saint. so before yall start pointing fingers and blaming yall should get the correct information and if yall cant keep open minded until the truth has been revealed.

Andrea, you are right. thanks for the correction.
That being said, Judge Kendall's behavior offends equally.
Captainvic

Yeah, VIHotness, someone who "ain't no saint" deserves to be kileed by stabbing!!..........Sheesh! I thought the Justice system on the Main Land was bad, but the one in the VI's really stinks like a dead rat! Come on people, get a grip.....Kendall is the one who "ain't no saint".......take him out back.......

'nuff said......

-Bert

oh, yes, vihotmess....of course you're right.

I mean, unless Cockayne was a saint, he deserves whatever happened to him.

I suppose your comments could be interperted to mean that anyone who comes to the VI, but doesn't accordingly, could meet this fate and you'd feel that it is justified.

Perhaps you should go stand in the "I'm part of the problem" line. It's getting long. Better hurry.

vihotmess,

Being loyal to your friends, doesn't require lying for them.

Really and truely what the hell are yall talking about i didnt say s**t bout him deserving it but obviously anyone would know when dealing with a case like this you would also check on his behavior with people around him. you dont know if someone was after him from before and use the time he got beat as an opportune moment to do their dirty deeds. dreamconch what are you saying, since they have already accused him of being the murderer they shouldnt listen to anyone who tries to justify him. and how do you know they would be lying? You Dont. all im saying is it seems to me like people are just looking for someone to blame rather than taking resposibility to do what needs to be done.
dont be putting words in my mouth.

I apologize to everyone for even starting this thread
This is getting waaaay out of hand and it really is not necessary.

Some have read the stories, second-hand stories some with bias, read the conjecture and speculation and have concluded that Thomas is guilty. I think that they would be happy if vigilante justice were done - take him out and hang him high at noon without the police, the courts or the justice system being involved. (yes, I am being sarcastic)
But it seems the judge (right or wrong) wants more critical evidence - physical evidence it sounds like to me. Did it ever occur that it was the very lack of evidence that made the police continue the investigation and not rush to an arrest? Maybe they are familiar with the rules of evidence and anticipated the court's actions Ya think?
Sometimes it is a very long and bumpy road to a conviction with many convoluted twists and turns but these threads and comments certainly are not helping anyone. And sometimes, a conviction is not forthcoming - and not because someone did or didn't do their job but because of circumstances. Sometimes, the weapon is not found, there are no eye-witnesses, there is no "trace" as Jamie's parents imply. This is not CSI where cases are solved in an hour with commercials and the "bad" guy/girl is always convicted. It takes long hours, hard work and lots of cooperation from everyone.

You and I both know that it is wrong to try these types of cases in the media and it often causes blowback at important times in the process. It is not realistic to expect the police to outline every step.

We should all be working together with our good friends and the people of the USVI without all the negative stuff that can only hurt not help.

I'm done!

" think police should also look into the behavior of the late cockayne because ive heard from good sources that he wasnt no saint. so before yall start pointing fingers and blaming yall should get the correct information and if yall cant keep open minded until the truth has been revealed."

vihotmess,
Are you pulling our collective legs? You can't possibly be serious, sir?
Your arrogance in professing to know more than most would be funny...if it weren't so incredibly appalling.
BTW...I am one of "the americans" to whom you derisively refer....my family and I come to enjoy the beauty of St. John, while at the same time contributing to its economy.
I truly believe that your views are isolated to a few persons like yourself and not wide spread amongst the wonderful folks we've encountered while on St. John.

Mia let me tell you something i have a Right to point out what "americans" i want because i was born in New York and raised in Atlanta. and you'll probaly never know why or how i Do know more than most of you.you may think it funny or even appalling, but being on a small island and being with "my" people you tend to know things that you outsiders dont, and who merely assume what they want from what they're told by their news sources. and how can my views be isolated if im trying to look at every aspect possible. it is you and the many others who are isolated.