By PAVEL BAILEY
Tribune Staff Reporter
pbailey@tribunemedia.net
A MAN was found guilty of attempting to shoot and kill another man outside a bar on Bethel Avenue in the spring of 2021.
Senior Justice Gregory Hilton presided over the trial of 47-year-old Tavare “Little Spoon” Meijas, which concluded with a jury returning a 7-2 guilty verdict for attempted murder. The same jury unanimously convicted him on two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
Meijas appeared downcast as the verdict was delivered.
He reportedly fired a gun in the direction of Desmond Smith and Darron Minnis at B Watts Liquor on April 10 2021. Mr Smith was shot in the left hand. A doctor testified that the victim suffered a penetrating wound that could have been fatal without medical treatment.
Meijas was arrested half an hour after the shooting.
The trial had been delayed after Mr Smith was shot and killed in an unrelated incident in Gambier Village on February 5, 2023. However, prosecutors proceeded with the case against Meijas.
Summarising the evidence, Justice Hilton said Mr Minnis had testified that Meijas was standing three to four feet away when he fired at them three to four times.
Mr Minnis described the shooter as fair-skinned with plaited hair at the time of the attack. Both he and the deceased identified Meijas as the gunman in a police lineup.
Justice Hilton noted that Mr Smith had told police he and Meijas attended high school together. He further said that they had been drinking together that night before Meijas left and later returned with a gun.
Meijas denied Mr Smith’s claim that the shooting stemmed from a dispute over a woman.
Surveillance footage of the incident was also presented to the jury.
Despite maintaining his innocence, Meijas did not testify in his own defence or call any witnesses. He claimed he was at home at the time of the offence.
His attorney, Calvin Seymour, argued that the lack of a gunshot residue test on Meijas’ hands or clothing weakened the prosecution’s case. He also noted that an officer could not recall whether the accused was left-handed.
After the verdict, Mr Seymour requested a probation report while his client remains on remand.
Meijas was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until sentencing submissions on June 18.
Janet Munnings and Audrey Bonamy prosecuted the case.
Meijas was previously convicted in 2013 for the attempted murders of two men at the same bar on December 25, 2010. He was sentenced to ten years in prison, with credit for one year spent on remand.
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