Pit bulls attack and injure woman; Owner charged

Man fired from BNS account for losing $1.2 million

Feliona Phang’s legal troubles began in January when her three pit bulls attacked a neighbor, causing the victim severe nerve damage to her eyelid and multiple bite wounds.

Phang appeared in St James Parish Court on Thursday and was charged under the Dogs (Liability for Assault) Act. She is represented by lawyer Chumu Paris.

Pit bulls attack and injure woman; Owner charged

According to court documents, the incident occurred on January 18, 2024 at around 6:00 a.m. in the Flanker community in Montego Bay, St. James.

It is alleged that the complainant was completing paperwork related to a new job when she passed a neighbor’s house and noticed several pit bulls on the property. While she was chatting with a neighbor, she suddenly noticed one of the dogs aggressively approaching her.

She picked up a rock to throw at the dog, but before she could do so, the dog grabbed her face. Other dogs then jumped at her, attacked her and bit her all over her body.

She managed to get up and escape before being taken to Cornwall Regional Hospital.

The complainant reportedly suffered bites to her right eye, right forehead, right side, right foot, left elbow and right hand, as well as several scratches.

During the hearing, lawyer Laura Williams-Salmon, who observed the proceedings on behalf of the complainant, told the court that her client had since visited an ophthalmologist and had been charged $670,000 for corrective surgery on her eye. The lawyer explained that although her client’s eyesight and eyeball were fine, the nerve in her eyelid was completely damaged and she was unable to lift her eyelid without using her hand. She also explained that the scars she suffered all over her body needed treatment.

The complainant, who had one eye closed, was given the opportunity to address the court. She said that after attacking her, the dogs attacked other people who were fortunately able to escape.

When presiding judge Natiesha Fairclough-Hylton asked what had happened to the dogs, the investigating officer told the court he had contacted the owners on several occasions to try to persuade them to get the dogs under control however, no effort has been made to do so.

The judge then questioned Phang about the information presented to the court about the dogs allegedly still roaming the streets. She flatly rejected the claim.

Meanwhile, Paris said he was not aware of any such complainant.

The clerk then informed the court that further corrective surgery was required, but that a cost estimate was not yet available.

Subsequently, the case was brought up for trial on May 28 and Phang’s bail was extended.

Man fired for missing $1.2 million from BNS account

The Prosecutors presented no evidence Thursday against Jowayne Gardener, who was charged after allegedly receiving more than $1.2 million that was improperly withdrawn from a customer’s bank account.

Gardener appeared briefly in St. James Parish Court to answer 17 counts of theft.

He was represented by attorney Suwayne Phillips.

The court was previously informed that the applicants were no longer interested in pursuing the case.

According to the complainants before Thursday’s court hearing, the prosecution presented no evidence against Gardener and he was fired.

Court documents indicate that sometime in November 2022, the male complainant was depositing money into his business account at the Santa Cruz branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) in St. Elizabeth when he noticed his balance was significantly lower than it should have been should have been.

Further checks by a supervisor at the bank revealed a printout showing several transfers of which the complainant was unaware and in names unknown to him. Gardener’s name was on the recipient list.

The second complainant, co-owner of the looted account, was contacted and stated that she was not aware of any of the transactions.

During the course of the investigation, numerous people, including a friend of the defendant, were named as interested parties. The friend is believed to be the real beneficiary of many transfers.

At around 3:00 p.m. on November 10, 2022, Gardener was located at a call center in Montego Bay asking for the amount his friend had transferred to his account. He replied that the money was intended for foreign exchange trading.

When presented with a list of transfers, Gardner stated that he could not explain the amounts of money his friend had transferred to his account.

A total of $1,245,483.61 was said to have been deposited into Gardener’s account.