Dexter Bodden
Dexter Kelvin Bodden, known as the ‘Calypso Cowboy’, could face two and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to wounding.
In December 2016, Bodden stabbed a man who was breaking into his house. Claiming self-defence, Bodden originally entered a not-guilty plea in Summary Court, but when the matter reached Grand Court, he changed his plea to guilty.
During a sentencing hearing on Friday, Bodden’s lawyer Nicholas Dixey told the court the sentence “should really be suspended”.
Cayman’s courts can suspend prison sentences for up to two years if the sentence is less than two years. Bodden’s proposed sentence is six months over the two-year mark.
“Had my client chosen to go to trial, there is a very likely chance the jury would have acquitted him,” said Dixey. “Mr. Bodden, a victim of two burglaries, was trying to protect himself and his property during a third attempt.
“The wall of anger and sympathy that was created by the public following the initial reports that he had pleaded guilty is a clear indication that good people, ordinary people, would be outraged if he was to be imprisoned.”
Three months after stabbing the intruder, Bodden was shot. The man arrested and charged for the shooting is the complainant, who was the intruder. The court heard that Bodden was charged with the stabbing while he was still nursing his gunshot wound. The complainant remains on bail in relation to the shooting.
“Mr. Bodden is willing to pay $7,000 as compensation to the complainant” over the next 18 months, Dixey said.
When arguing for a lower prison term, Dixey told Acting Justice Marlene Carter that the amount of time that had transpired since the stabbing, Bodden’s guilty plea, his willingness to pay compensation, and his remorse should allow her find “special circumstances”.
The judge said she would have to “think about this carefully” and adjourned her ruling until 25 Oct.
Bodden was released on bail.
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