Man in St Vincent jailed for fatally hitting friend with rum bottle during dispute

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent, CMC – A High Court judge has sentenced a 56-year-old fisherman to 10 years in prison after he was found guilty of causing the death of his friend, Cameron Alexander, a security guard, whom he struck in the head with a rum bottle in August 2023.

Justice Rickie Burnett imposed the sentence on Joel Ashton, alias ‘Goat’, deducting two months and three days from the 10-year jail term, representing the period the convicted man had spent on remand awaiting trial.

The court heard that between August 26 and September 1, 2023, at Lowmans Bay, a coastal community located on the leeward side of St Vincent, Ashton caused Alexander’s death by an unlawful act.

Burnett noted that at the time of his death, Alexander was a 42-year-old security guard and the father of two children.

Alexander and Ashton were friends and were liming with other friends when Alexander and another man pooled their funds to purchase a pint of rum.

Sometime later, a physical altercation ensued after Alexander reportedly removed a small bottle of rum from Ashton’s pocket.

In response, Ashton struck Alexander on the left side of his head with a glass rum bottle, causing the bottle to shatter.

A witness told the court that Alexander did not react to Ashton’s actions but simply asked, “Just so?”

The witness said he also saw Alexander holding his head at an angle and observed blood running from his ear.

Alexander then went into the nearby sea and later returned to the shop, where blood was observed on his neck.

By August 28, 2023, Alexander’s condition had deteriorated significantly, and he was discovered by one of his sons unresponsive, frothing at the mouth and bleeding. He was taken to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital and admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.

Alexander died at the hospital on Wednesday, August 30, 2023.

Pathologist Dr Ronald Child said Alexander died from blunt force trauma to the head.

Ashton surrendered to police on September 24, 2023.

During the sentencing phase, one of Alexander’s sons, Giovanni Stapleton, said his father meant everything to him and that he misses him daily.

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