Stabbing Suspect Released On $2,500 Bail After Arraignment In Nantucket District Court

The suspect arrested after the downtown Nantucket stabbing on Tuesday has been released from custody on $2,500 bail following an arraignment Wednesday morning in Nantucket District Court.

Kemar K. Downer, 39, is facing two charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury in the aftermath of the stabbing that resulted in a man being transported to a mainland hospital by Medflight helicopter. A plea of not guilty was submitted on Downer's behalf, and he was released from custody after posting bail.

Downer, who is originally from Jamaica and works for Sayle's Seafood on Washington Street, claims he stabbed the man in self-defense after he was attacked while making deliveries on South Beach Street. The altercation "had something to do with a girl," Downer's attorney, Rob Moriarty, said in court on Wednesday, adding that his client had no prior criminal record. 
 
The Cape & Islands’ District Attorney’s Office requested the court impose bail in the amount of $10,000 on Downer and that he submit to tracking via a GPS monitoring device, stay away from and have no contact with the man he was fighting with, and be restricted from being in the area of the man's home address. Moriarty asked the court to release Downer on his personal recognizance, with no bail.

After hearing from both sides, Nantucket District Court Judge James Sullivan set bail at $2,500, and imposed several conditions including the GPS monitoring device and the stay away/no contact orders. 

Downer's immigration status was not discussed during Wednesday's court session, and Moriarty declined to comment on the topic.

Moriarty said the incident was a clear example of self-defense and that Downer did not pull the knife until he was attacked from behind. He said a surveillance video he reviewed completely supports Downer’s statements to police. Moriarty added that Downer is an eight-year resident of the island and has worked at Sayle’s Seafood on Washington Street for all of those eight years. Charlie Sayle, the fish market’s owner, was in the courtroom for the arraignment.

“He has housing, he has no prior criminal record,” Moriarty said. “Mr. Downer defended himself. This is straight self-defense. The other individual is bigger than him. Mr. Downer is relatively small in stature. The other individual is much larger and surprised him. Apparently, this had something to do with a girl that led to this individual attacking him. He was attacked without warning, was surprised, and defended himself, and the Nantucket Police treat it like a murder, and they hold him overnight without a determination of probable cause, without presenting the magistrate with information sufficient to hold him. He should have been brought for an arraignment at 3 o’clock (Tuesday afternoon) at the latest. It’s unconscionable.”

In surveillance video obtained by the Current below, Downer is wearing the grey shirt:

Moriarty also filed a motion for the case to be dismissed – citing Jenkins v. Chief Justice of the District Court Department, a 1993 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court case - due to the Nantucket Police Department’s alleged failure to bring Downer into court on Tuesday, the day the stabbing occurred.

"This incident occurred at approximately 10:30 a.m. and he was done giving statements to the Nantucket Police by around 1 o'clock and then they didn't bring him to court as they're required to under the law while court was sitting, while there was defense counsel there waiting for an arraignment, while the Commonwealth was ready," Moriarty said. "The Nantucket Police essentially decided that they were not going to abide by the Constitution because they think they are above it. They were not going to bring him to court. He's charged with stabbing. They should have brought him to court yesterday afternoon. His right to a prompt arraignment was denied, and the complaint under Jenkins should be dismissed.”

The Commonwealth requested more time to review and prepare for the motion, and a pretrial hearing was scheduled for Tuesday, June 30^th in Nantucket District Court to further evaluate the motion to dismiss.

According to the police report obtained by the Current, Nantucket Police officers arrived at the scene of the incident and found a man bleeding on the ground. He suffered an approximate 2.5-inch laceration on his left forearm and a 1.5-inch laceration to his upper left chest/rib area. After fire department personnel arrived and began treating the alleged victim, Downer was identified to authorities by a passerby, who pointed at him sitting on a chair on the sidewalk.

When police spoke to the man who was stabbed at the hospital, he told them he said a Jamaican profanity to Downer, and the altercation ensued. The alleged victim said he saw Downer pull a three-star pocketknife from his waistband and then realized he was stabbed in the forearm but “did not realize he was stabbed in the chest.”

The wounds will require multiple surgeries, according to the report. The man was transported from Nantucket Cottage Hospital by Medflight helicopter to a mainland hospital for further evaluation and treatment. 

Downer told police he did not know the man's name, but they came from the same parish in Jamaica, and that he had heard “the victim had issues with him," the report states. Downer told police that while he was lifting juices into the Juice Bar, he was suddenly punched in the back of the head.

“Downer stated he turned around to see who it was and was then kicked in the chest. Downer stated that he then pulled a pocketknife from his pocket and swung it towards the alleged victim approximately two to three times,” according to the report. 

Downer told police he then went into the Juice Bar looking for a knife in case the man came back. Downer said he remained in the area until police arrived and arrested him.

A witness told police that Downer went into the Juice Bar, grabbed a chef’s knife from the kitchen, and held it behind his back. Another employee approached Downer and took the knife back, which was described as a 10- to 12-inch knife.

The stabbing set off a chaotic scene on The Strip along Broad Street, as Nantucket Police, Massachusetts State Police, and EMTs responded to the nearby area of South Beach Street just before 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday. They roped off the small side street that runs behind The Juice Bar and The Rose & Crown with police tape, and tended to the man bleeding on the sidewalk. The person was alert and conscious while talking to first responders as they treated his injuries before being taken away by ambulance. Downer was arrested at the scene and taken away in handcuffs.

Witnesses at the scene told the Current that the stabbing occurred following a verbal and physical altercation between the two men. The man who attacked Downer and then got stabbed was the driver of a Myles Reis garbage truck, while Downer was driving a Sayles Seafood delivery truck that had parked in the area.

After the stabbing, the garbage truck driver ran towards The Strip, witnesses said, where staff members of Stubbys and other businesses attempted to stop the bleeding with napkins before first responders arrived.