Jamaica: Ex-cop who fatally shot man at party is given life imprisonment
A former policeman in Jamaica who shot and killed an entertainer at a party in St Mary has been sentenced to life imprisonment.
The former constable, Oshane Thompson, was handed the Home Circuit Court sentence in Kingston on Friday.
The charge was about the May 2017 fatal shooting of 31-year-old entertainer Kriston Pearson, also called 'Instaboss' and 'Maffei's of Three Hills, St Mary, and Exchange in Ocho Rios, St Ann, at a party in Trinity, St Mary.
The ex-cop was charged following an investigation by the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM).
Thompson was a suspect in the incident and was interviewed under caution by INDECOM. But shortly after, he resigned from the police force and left the island for the United States of America.
He was arrested by Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) officers on August 30, 2018, upon his deportation to the island, and was subsequently charged following a ruling by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
During INDECOM's investigation, it was reported that the now deceased and the former police officer had an altercation, which resulted in the shooting incident.
The judge stipulated that Thompson should serve 20 years and eight months before becoming eligible for parole consideration.
The judge-only trial began in July 2021 and was heard in the St. Mary Circuit Court by Justice Carolyn Tie-Powell.
During her summation, Justice Tie-Powell said the use of a firearm in the circumstances was unnecessary and unjustified and that the prosecution had proven the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Thompson was found guilty on September 24, 2021.
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