By PAVEL BAILEY
Tribune Staff Reporter
pbailey@tribunemedia.net
A MAN awaiting trial for two murders and the attempted murder of five police officers has been denied bail by the Supreme Court.
Keno McKenzie, 30, was refused bail by Justice Franklyn Williams on five counts of attempted murder and five counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.
Justice Williams noted that McKenzie was already on bail for murder at the time of the alleged offences and had previously served a one-year prison sentence for bail breaches on September 29, 2023.
The court also heard that McKenzie’s relatives, who acted as sureties, had sought to have his bail revoked on May 24, 2023, saying they could no longer locate or monitor him.
Although McKenzie argued that the evidence against him was “inherently weak” and unlikely to lead to a conviction, Justice Williams ruled that the case appeared strong.
He denied bail, citing the risk to public safety and the potential for retaliatory violence against the accused, adding that no bail conditions could adequately mitigate that risk.
McKenzie had been on release for the 2019 murders of Ferdinand Agenor, 54, and Daniel Sterling, who were killed hours apart in Englerston on February 10 of that year. While on bail for those charges, he allegedly breached his curfew seven times between April 10 and July 15, 2023.
Police allege that on September 20, 2023, officers responded to gunfire near Miami Street, where McKenzie opened fire in the direction of ASP Melanie Allen, Inspector Rico Brown, PC Clifford Bain, and PC Arnold Taylor, forcing them to take cover behind a police vehicle.
Geoffrey Farquharson represented the accused, while Karine McVean served as the prosecutor.
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