A jury took just shy of an hour to determine that neither of the two St Andrew men accused of wounding Wayne Watts, of the same parish, did so.
DeWayne Antonio Smithwick, of Belleplaine Housing Area, and Devon Jamal Boyce, of Belleplaine Main Road, were acquitted of unlawfully and maliciously wounding Watts with intent to do him serious bodily harm, or to maim, disfigure or disable him on July 18, 2018, along with a second count of unlawfully wounding the complainant on that same date.
Watts testified during the hearing that he was on his way to work and was standing in front Belleplaine Supermarket when he noticed Boyce on the opposite side of the road, on his phone and he appeared to be texting. He also saw bottles in three of Boyce’s pockets.
Watts remembered sensing a presence behind him and when he looked around, Smithwick was running toward him from the back of the supermarket with a cleaver and icepick in one hand, and a rock in the other. He threw the rock first, before switching the cleaver to his right hand. (SD)