A Grand Court jury has acquitted Bryan Roy Welcome of murder in relation to a heated verbal confrontation that ended with Welcome running over and killing former customer Omar Ryan.
Welcome was brought to tears on Thursday, 20 June, following the unanimous not-guilty verdict on murder. The jury was also given an option of convicting on an alternate charge of manslaughter, which they rejected.
Welcome accepted that he was the driver who struck and killed Ryan on the evening of 8 July 2023 but stated at the time he was in fear for his life and acted in self-defence.
As the owner of People’s Choice Grocery, Welcome had supplied produce on credit to Ryan every week for four years.
However, the relationship between the men soured after Ryan claimed he had been sold spoiled items, which eventually led to him confronting Welcome.
An unpaid $50 debt
During the trial, it came to light that Ryan had incurred $350 worth of debt for items connected to two separate orders. The larger of the two orders, which was worth $300, is said to have comprised spoiled produce and was written off by Welcome, leaving a balance of $50, which Ryan never paid.
The events of 8 July that led up to Ryan’s death were captured on CCTV and played for the jury.
In the first set of video clips, which did not have any accompanying audio, Welcome could be seen delivering a case of water to an elderly customer at a shopping plaza along Shedden Road, George Town.
While delivering the case of water, Welcome came upon Ryan. During a short greeting, Welcome said he asked for the outstanding $50 in jest, thinking nothing of it as the two parted ways.
However, moments after the brief encounter, the video showed Ryan using his Honda Stepwgn to block Welcome’s car, and confronting him.
In the video, Ryan could be seen acting in an aggressive manner and waving his hands back and forth as he occasionally pointed towards Welcome.
The jury was told that eventually Ryan drove off. Welcome left a short time later, driving his car, an Audi A3, in the opposite direction. However, the video showed that Ryan then turned his vehicle around and began chasing Welcome towards his warehouse in Industrial Park.
Heated dispute ends in death
The CCTV footage showed the men arriving at the warehouse.
As both vehicles stopped in the middle of the parking lot, Ryan exited his vehicle and began shouting and making indiscernible gestures towards Welcome’s vehicle.
A few seconds later, Welcome can be seen reversing his car and repositioning it directly in line with Ryan.
The revving of the Audi A3 can then be heard, followed by high-pitched screeching of tyres ending with a thud, as Welcome struck Ryan, who was standing near the right front bumper of the Stepwgn.
After striking Ryan, Welcome continued to drive, dragging him under the vehicle to the back of the Stepwgn. He then ran over him and drove back towards the entrance of the complex and out of the camera’s line of sight.
Ryan, who went by the name ‘Blacks’, is seen struggling to get to his feet and staggering to the rear of his Stepwgn, where he collapsed once again.
“Mi wi kill yuh [expletive],” Welcome could be heard shouting, as he returned to the scene on foot.
“Blacks, mi tell yuh fi give me [expletive] money, and all now,” Welcome again shouted as he approached Ryan.
“Yu ah fahla mi like ah me owe yuh money, yuh a eedeyat?” shouted Welcome, as he kicked Ryan in the head.
As bystanders quickly rushed over, one asked Welcome what was happening, to which he replied, “Di man ah fahla mi round like mi owe him money. Mi tell him fi leggo mi money.”
‘I was in fear for my life’
During the trial, Welcome told the court that the events of that evening left him in fear for his life, and ultimately caused him to act in self-defence.
“I was in shock and confused. I’m still in shock, I’m still confused,” Welcome told the jury. “I still cannot figure out why he came to the warehouse. I believed he came to the warehouse to kill me or do me harm, and my son.”
While being questioned by his attorney Dean George, KC, Welcome said he could not see what was in Ryan’s hand due to the lighting at the time and became fearful that he was in possession of a gun.
“At the time, I was sure he had a gun, and I just wanted to get out of there. I was in fear for my life and my son’s life,” he said.
Welcome said he didn’t mean to harm or kill Ryan, even though he could be heard telling Ryan he would kill him, as he lay dying on the ground.
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