Conviction Overturned In American Sailor’s 2013 Murder Case

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The country’s final court has quashed Anton Bastian’s conviction for murder and armed robbery.

The Privy Council ruled that the trial judge ought to have thrown out the murder charge at the close of the prosecution’s case due to the tenuous nature of the evidence.

Bastian had been tried alongside four other men for murder and armed robbery.

Prosecutors alleged that on May 12, 2013, a group of men, including Bastian, grabbed the handbags of two women near a bar on East Bay Street.

American sailor Kyle Bruner confronted the robbers and was shot dead by Craig Johnson.

The Privy Council said that the jurors would have benefitted from clearer directions on joint responsibility.

The Privy Council has left it up to the Court of Appeal to determine whether Bastian will be retried for manslaughter.

The lower court will also resentence Bastian for robbery.

Ryszard Humes of Munroe and Associates represented Bastian along with Philip Rule KC and Daniel Henderson.