Hattieville Man Walks Free, Co-Accused Still Faces Murder Trial

One of the two men charged in a double murder case in Hattieville is now a free man. Twenty-two-year-old Ian Roy Herrera was released after the Director of Public Prosecutions dropped the charges against him due to lack of evidence. Herrera had been jointly charged with twenty-five-year-old construction worker Blake Norman Lewis for the October 2023 murders of Martin Sho, forty-five, and Joel Andrews, sixty-seven. The charges stemmed from a gruesome discovery at a farm in the Farmers Site area of Hattieville. Police were called to the scene and found signs of a struggle, blood trails, a bloodied wheelbarrow, and eventually, the bodies of both men in separate locations near a pond. Andrews had multiple gunshot wounds. Herrera was first arrested and charged in August 2024, followed by Lewis a few days later. While Herrera is now free, Lewis remains behind bars and has pleaded not guilty. His case is set to continue on November twenty-first, 2025. Crown Counsel Portia Staine-Ferguson is prosecuting the case on behalf of the DPP’s office.