A George Town man is on trial on a charge of attempted murder after a heated family dispute ended with him allegedly opening fire on his ‘father-in-law’ who injured the defendant’s young daughter.
Luisto Eusebio Hernandez, 22, faces one count of attempted murder, and another of possessing an unlicensed firearm. He denies both charges.
The incident occurred shortly after 7pm on 20 April 2022 at a Windsor Park address.
“The prosecution will prove that the defendant, Mr. Hernandez, intended to kill the complainant,” said Nicole Petit, who represents the Crown in the case, on the opening day of the trial on Monday.
The jury of five women and two men heard that minutes before the shooting, Hernandez and the stepfather of the mother of his child were involved in a heated verbal confrontation.
“The complainant is like family to Mr Hernandez, in some ways you might say he was his father-in-law,” said Petit. “At some stage of the argument, the complainant threw a glass bottle that fell and broke, the shards of which injured the defendant’s child.”
According to Petit, Hernandez got in his car and drove away, after having threatened to kill the victim.
“He returned 10 minutes later, with a firearm, and proceeded to chase the complainant who took shelter in a shop located in the yard,” said Petit. “The victim said he remembers hearing two shots, looking down and seeing blood.”
Following the shooting, Hernandez went on the run for four months before he was eventually located at a Bodden Town address and arrested.
“The gun was never recovered, and during his interview, he gave ‘no comment’ answers,” Petit said. “But we know he used a gun because the officers recovered a spent bullet casing from the scene which experts have determined was fired from a gun.
“Additional medical evidence also shows that [the victim] received significant injuries from a gunshot wound.”
The three-day trial is expected to wrap up on Wednesday.
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