Eladio Chesley Brown, 54, from West Bay, has been sentenced to five years in prison for seriously injuring his nephew in a violent machete attack after an evening of drinking.
Justice Cheryll Richards read out her sentence to Grand Court on Friday, 11 Aug., with Brown, who has more than 100 previous convictions, appearing via a video link.
She said that on 25 Jan. at about 10pm the victim – Brown’s 33-year-old nephew – Brown, his daughter and two of her female friends went out together for a social evening.
At about 2am back at home, Brown got into an argument with his daughter. He shouted at her and then became violent towards her, dragging her by the hair and shirt into the house.
Brown’s nephew saw the assault and, concerned for the welfare of his cousin, armed himself with a machete to prevent his uncle from committing further acts of violence.
He banged on the door of their house on Caribbean Lane in West Bay and Brown opened the door. The victim saw that he was also now armed with a machete, the judge said.
The defendant swung the machete at his nephew hitting him on his shoulder, causing a deep laceration. He then struck him in his head cutting him again.
The victim fell to the floor and Brown struck him twice more – on the chest and on the jaw, causing a deep cut running from his ear to his chin.
Brown’s nephew managed to flee from the residence and made a report to West Bay Police Station. He was taken to Cayman Islands Hospital where he was treated for his injuries.
Brown was arrested at his home that evening. He was interviewed under caution and admitted being involved in the violent incident, but said he was acting in self-defence.
He was convicted after a jury trial of unlawfully and maliciously wounding his nephew with intent to cause him grievous bodily harm. The maximum penalty is life imprisonment.
Significant pain
At the sentencing hearing, on 28 July, Richards heard evidence, as well as aggravating and mitigating factors, from prosecutor Alexander Barbour and defence attorney John Furniss.
The medical evidence from the hospital showed the victim sustained multiple machete wounds to the jaw, left shoulder, chest and forehead, Richards reminded the court on Friday.
In his victim impact report, Brown’s nephew said the incident affected him emotionally, particularly as his attacker was a close family member, and physically.
He was hospitalised and in significant pain. He required surgery to his jaw and now has substantial and permanent scarring on several areas of his face, shoulder and chest.
According to his crime record, Brown has more than 100 previous convictions between 1998 and 2006, including for wounding, assaults and threatening violence, Richards said.
A social inquiry report said Brown, a father of three, grew up in a dysfunctional household with six siblings.
Problem with alcohol
It added that the use of alcohol has become a problem for him, which fuelled his anger and contributed to other behaviours.
His probation officer said his record indicates a serious pattern of reoffending, the judge said, and that he shows no self-awareness of his substance-misuse issues and has a history of conflict.
A psychological report concluded that Brown did not meet the threshold for mental disorder but has traits associated with personality disorders and some cognitive issues.
Tests revealed he has an inflated sense of self-importance combined with an intense mistrust of others, an edgy defensiveness, and can misinterpret the actions of others.
Richards said the offence is of “lesser harm” because the injuries were not serious in context; the victim was able to flee from the scene and take himself to the police station.
This has a starting point of six years in custody, she told the court.
The two aggravating factors were the presence of others and the ongoing effect on the victim, she said, while mitigating factors included his age, mental cognitive issues, and provocation.
Considering the aggravating and mitigating factors, the judge sentenced Brown to five years in prison with time served to be taken into account.
“The defendant has a long history of assault of family members. He’s at very high risk of reoffending,” Richards concluded.
“There’s nothing in his personal circumstances that suggest that a custodial sentence is avoidable.”
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