Man Convicted of Attempted Murder Gets Additional 25 Years

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The Court of Appeal has increased the sentence of a man of convicted of shooting the girlfriend of his reputed rival to 25 years after finding that a judge went too easy on him.

Mike Philius was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the attempted murder of Jacqueline Similien on August 25, 2021 at Joe Farrington Road.

But prosecutors appealed the sentence because it was too lenient.

The Court of Appeal agreed saying that Justice Jeanine Weech-Gomez failed to place sufficient weight on the attack that left Similien permanently injured.

Similien was at home with her boyfriend Sammy Pascale when their car alarm went off.
Both Similien and Pascale went outside to investigate.

Pascale reportedly ran after a man, while Similien was attacked by two men, who were lurking near their yard.

She identified one of the assailants as Philius, whom she knew all of her life.

Similien said that the second man punched her about the body, while Philius shot her to the right hip. 

Similien said that Philius tried to shoot her again, however, his gun jammed and the clip dropped, prompting him and his accomplice to flee.

Before fleeing the scene, Philius reportedly warned Similien not to report the matter.

If she did, he told her he would return and kill her and her children.

The chilling threat remained on Similien’s mind and she didn’t tell police who shot her until three months later.