Magistrate urges Prosecution to get its act together

The prosecution had better get its house in order by September 8 or four young men could walk free of gun and ammunition charges.{{more}}

Chief Magistrate Sonya Young granted a final adjournment in the matter involving Fitz Hughes residents: Danroy Sheldon Small, 27, Cosmore Woods, 23, Iran Dunbar, 22, and Marlon Hendrickson, who stand accused of having in their possession: one 12 gauge shotgun, two rounds of nine millimeter ammunition, 12 rounds of 12 gauge shotgun cartridges one round of .25 ammunition and one Uzi machine gun on May 31, 2008.

On Tuesday, August 11, at the Serious Offences Court, defense Counsel for the men, Arthur Williams, objected to a request made by the prosecution to have the matter adjourned once again. Williams reminded the court that the matter had been before the court for over a year and said that it was high time that the matter came to an end.

Chateaubelair police had carried out a raid at the home of the accused and found the gun and ammunition.

Prosecutor Inspector Nigel Butcher said he requested the adjournment because there are two remaining witnesses in the matter who are important to the prosecution’s case. He told Magistrate Young that the prosecution had been experiencing difficulty in getting one of the witnesses to appear in court. Butcher said that the witness is a schoolgirl who kept promising to turn up to court when the matter was called but never did. The prosecutor also said that the other witness is a police officer who was out of the country.

In her response, Magistrate Young told Butcher that he should have organized himself better for the matter. Young said that since the matter was already partly heard, granting an adjournment at that time seemed a bit unusual. “I set this matter for August because I knew the girl would not have exams and she was out of school….Granting the adjournment now just seems a bit overplayed,” Young added.

Lawyer Kay Bacchus-Browne also appears on the men’s behalf.(KW)