DARIEN — A high court’s ruling this week could result in Scott Hapgood being despatched again to the Caribbean island to face a manslaughter cost in the demise of a lodge worker, the Anguillan legal professional common stated.
The ruling will enable a magistrate to go on investigating irrespective of whether the manslaughter demand must progress.
The decision also prevents the Darien resident from captivating the demand associated to the death of 27-yr-old hotel worker Kenny Mitchel until eventually his circumstance has been adjudicated. Hapgood is accused of killing Mitchel in the course of a confrontation in his hotel area in April 2019 while on family vacation with his spouse and children in Anguilla, which is a territory of the United Kingdom.
The determination issued Wednesday by the Judicial Committee of Britain’s Privy Council could direct authorities on the island to seek Hapgood’s extradition if result in is uncovered to continue, Anguillan Legal professional Normal Dwight Horsford stated in a statement.
“The Crown stays established to development this scenario,” Horsford explained. “It will do so — as it has considering the fact that proceedings began — objectively, quite and steadfastly with full regard for the rule of law and the principles of purely natural justice, which includes the presumption of innocence.”
Hapgood, 47, is thought of a “fugitive” by Anguillan authorities immediately after he declined to appear on the Caribbean island in November 2019 to address the manslaughter demand.
Hapgood is also becoming sued by Mitchel’s estate and has submitted his have lawsuit, declaring Auberge Resorts was negligent in the selecting and supervision of the employee who died on April 13, 2019 at the company’s Malliouhana Resort.
The legal circumstance and the lawsuits have been stalled for the duration of the pandemic and as Hapgood appealed a ruling that requested a magistrate to resume conducting an inquiry into no matter if there was induce to continue prosecuting him.
The magistrate had declined to carry on the investigation just after Hapgood refused to participate. But Anguillan law enforcement sought and received an charm necessitating the magistrate to move ahead. Hapgood appealed in a lower court and dropped and then appealed to the maximum court in Britain, but misplaced that hard work in Wednesday’s ruling.
Hapgood and his relatives have been on family vacation on the Caribbean island when Mitchel, a lodge personnel, confirmed up at their space to resolve a sink that experienced not been described broken, in accordance to paperwork filed in the lawsuits.
In his lawsuit, Hapgood claims he let the person into the room, but a confrontation ensued when Mitchel pulled out a knife and demanded dollars. Hapgood promises Mitchel “physically attacked” him in entrance of his two younger daughters, in accordance to his lawsuit.
Hapgood fought the youthful guy who was “biting, clawing and hitting” for the duration of the assault, his lawyers reported.
The Darien resident stated he was able to restrain Mitchel, but lodge workforce who have been summoned by his daughters initially did not call police or an ambulance until eventually nearly 40 minutes had passed, Hapgood’s lawsuit reported. A resort safety guard eventually took in excess of restraining Mitchel until law enforcement arrived, the lawsuit mentioned.
Attorney Steven Seligman, symbolizing Mitchel’s estate, claimed in their lawsuit that Hapgood stored his arm on the lodge worker’s neck, chopping off his airway for an extended interval of time, creating his loss of life. Mitchel was pronounced dead a shorter time later on at the hospital.
Hapgood’s lawsuit also references Mitchel’s cause of death currently being attributed to a cocaine overdose based mostly on an Anguillan toxicology report.
“Despite the toxicology success exhibiting that an overdose brought about Mitchel’s demise, Anguilla has continued to prosecute Scott, and he has incurred sizeable charges in defending the prosecution,” Hapgood’s attorneys stated.
Hapgood was charged with manslaughter by Anguillan authorities a couple of times immediately after the incident. An indignant mob accusing him of murder gathered outdoors the jail where by he was staying held, his attorneys mentioned. He was later launched on bond and allowed to return to Connecticut.
Citing fears for his protection and fairness of the judicial technique on the Caribbean island, Hapgood’s attorneys advised him not to appear in an Anguillan courtroom when he was due to return in November 2019.
Anguillan authorities have released minor facts about the manslaughter demand, citing the pending investigation by the justice of the peace.
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