Man pleads guilty to shooting two police officers in the Bahamas
An Abaco man who shot two police officers was placed on probation for two years yesterday and fined $10,000 as part of a plea agreement.
As part of the deal, prosecutors dropped attempted murder charges against Marty Sawyer.
He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of using deadly means of harm when he appeared before Senior Justice Bernard Turner.
The judge told Sawyer that he was fortunate that he avoided a term of imprisonment.
The deal was approved by the director of public prosecutions and brokered by Sawyer’s attorney, Alexander Maillis.
Prosecutors said that Chief Superintendent Wendell Smith and Constable Andre Linden responded to a disturbance at home at Pelican Shores in Marsh Harbour when Sawyer opened fire on them with a 12-gauge shotgun. Sawyer also shot himself in the neck.
Should Sawyer get into any legal problems in the next two years, he will be sentenced to five years in prison.
Additionally, Sawyer has to pay a total of $60,000 in compensation to the wounded officers by December 1.
Smith will get $35,000, and Linden will get $25,000. The default sentence for nonpayment is two years in prison.
Sawyer is banned from owning a firearm again, and he also has to attend rehab at Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre.
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