By Ricardo Wells
Tribune Staff Reporter
rwells@tribunemedia.net
THE mother of a 28-year-old man shot and killed yesterday morning claims he was working to clear his name following a 2015 murder charge.
Gloria Ferguson, in an interview with The Tribune at her Dorsette Alley home just hours after her son was shot a few yards away, said the effects of that incident haunted her son’s short life. At 24, Anthony Ferguson was accused of intentionally causing the death of Arthur Culmer, who was fatally shot at Dorsette Alley on Christmas Eve 2014. Ferguson was charged in January 2015.
The incident, according to Mrs Ferguson, has always been mired in controversy and confusion, given the fact that her son was also nearly killed, and that he and the deceased were said to be travelling together at the time of the shooting.
In a letter he penned with her assistance in recent weeks, Ferguson claimed that he and Culmer were leaving a barber shop when both men were shot.
He said he was rushed to the hospital by his brother, where he was immediately transferred to the trauma unit.
Ferguson said he spent two weeks in the hospital awaiting surgery to remove a bullet left lodged near his heart, before being unexpectedly discharged to be arraigned for Culmer’s murder.
In the letter, he notes his plea to Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt when she asked him how he came to be injured.
Ferguson recalled the judge’s attempt to arrange a second surgery for him while he was held on remand. He said despite her best efforts, the surgery was withheld.
In his letter seen by The Tribune he addressed this period, writing: “Not because I live through Dorsette Alley, it supposed to be One Order hot spot, but I am not a gang member and should not be used as a scapegoat to the public so that police can look like they solving crime.”
Mrs Ferguson said her son was never able to recover from the murder charge, compounded by the fact that he was seen in a negative light by Culmer’s relatives.
“It is [name omitted] view that the people came to shoot at me but [Culmer] was caught in the crossfire. [Name omitted] sees his death as my fault and I should pay by going to jail. This is ridiculous obviously,” was how Ferguson concluded his letter.
Holding several copies of this letter yesterday, Mrs Ferguson fought back tears as she blamed herself for not doing more to have her son’s ordeal documented in the press and on social media.
“Now he gone and I only have the words on the paper,” she said.
In his letter, Ferguson said his case ended in a mistrial and referred to a second trial before another judge, however it is not clear how this case concluded.
Police in a press statement yesterday appealed to members of the public with information related to the case to contact CDU at 502-9991, Crime Stoppers at 328-TIPS or 919.
Ferguson was one of three men shot over the weekend in separate incidents.
A man was reportedly shot while standing at the junction of Cambridge Lane and West Street in New Providence shortly after 2pm Saturday.
Police said two men in a silver coloured car approached him and discharged a firearm in his direction, hitting him in his left ankle before driving off.
The victim was taken to hospital and is listed in stable condition.
In the third incident, a man went to the Marsh Harbour Health Clinic in Abaco with a gunshot wound in his face.
Police said the man reported that while in Murphy Town, sitting in his vehicle shortly before 9pm on Saturday, he was approached by a man whom he knew, who pointed a firearm in his direction, opened fire, hitting him in his face. The man then fled.
He was rushed to the clinic by private vehicle and was seen by a doctor who listed his injuries as serious, but stable. He was later airlifted to New Providence for further medical attention.
Investigations into all three matters are continuing.
Comments
John 4 years, 10 months ago
And this cry of families and young men still going unheard and unanswered. And if persons are being wrongly accused of murder and getting killed because of it or spending endless time in jail without proper due process, the blood of those young men are on the hands of those responsible. And the killings will not stop until the corruption in the system is stamped out and those responsible for it are not only weeded out but sent to prison. This government came to power on the platform that it will address corruption. And if corruption and the mismanagement of the legal system is causing the deaths of many young men it should be addressed with priority.
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