Barbados Magistrate Oliver Thomas dies suddenly at 39

Three weeks after being sworn in as a magistrate, former Barbados prosecutor Oliver Thomas has died suddenly at the age of 39.

Thomas, who had been appointed to the bench on January 2, passed away today, a day after presiding over multiple cases in Criminal Court No.1 at the District “A” Magistrates’ Court. Among the matters he heard yesterday were the case of Jayden Tyrell Haynes, accused in an alleged mass shooting on Hincks Street, and Dario Demario Ifill of Richard Land, Bush Hall, St Michael, who admitted to possessing cannabis.

Admitted to the Bar in 2014, Thomas joined the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in 2015 and rose to the position of Principal State Counsel before his appointment as magistrate. He also contributed to the legal community as a tutor in the Regional Security Systems Fisheries Prosecution and Interdiction Course and served on the Disciplinary Committee of the Barbados Boxing Association.

Thomas came from a family with a notable legal and law enforcement background. He was the grandson of Marcus Thomas, the first Police Commissioner of independent St Vincent and the Grenadines, and the son of Justice Errol Thomas, a former High Court judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.

He married in June last year.