Morvant mother seeks answers after son shot dead by cops

The mother of the 23-year-old Morvant man who was shot dead by police a week ago is hopeful an investigation by the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) will unravel the true account of how he was killed.

Janelle Hutchinson-Huggins was called to identify her son's body at the Forensic Science Centre on Friday to pave the way for an autopsy on June 1.

A police report said North Eastern Division officers went to an apartment building at Almond Court, Lady Young Road, Morvant around 2.20 am and were confronted by Jonathan Huggins.

The report said Huggins was seen in a bedroom and told to surrender. Instead, he pointed a gun at the officers, who then shot him. He was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, where he was declared dead on arrival.

However, family and neighbours told his mother another story. In their version, Huggins was unarmed and not aggressive.

Hutchinson-Huggins told Newsday her son had been living a life of crime for years. He had several convictions for assault and robbery and had several cases pending, including shooting with intent, possession of a firearm, and possession of ammunition.

She said that night, after 2 am, Huggins got a call from a neighbour saying a black X-Trail with no licence plate had driven up to the building, so he hid at the side of a built-in wardrobe and was wedged between the wardrobe and a wall.

She claimed her son was on a video call with his girlfriend in the US who reported that Huggins was pleading with the police before they shot him.

Deputy director of the PCA Michelle Solomon-Baksh told Newsday the authority initiated an investigation on the day of the shooting and had already contacted Huggins's relatives.

Hutchinson-Huggins said the PCA had already interviewed the girlfriend but had yet to interview her other son or herself.

She moved her children out of the home after the shooting, so she was certain a PCA investigator had not yet processed the scene.

She questioned why it was taking so long to do an autopsy, as there was no confusion when another son, Joel Huggins, 16, was shot and killed in October 2016.

Joel, a student of Success Laventille, had heard someone call out at the front of their Almond Court home. He was shot three times in the chest and once in the head.