Man claims he had to sleep on cold floor

During the 48 hours he was in custody at police headquarters, Dwaine “Tall man” Sandy was made to sleep on the floor.{{more}}

“I sleep with handcuffs on my hands on cold tiles and me is an innocent man,” Sandy said.

Sandy, who on Monday had turned himself over to police, in connection with a robbery and shooting incident on June 13, was also made to eat with handcuffs on, his attorney Grant Connell said.

On Wednesday morning, he was released without being charged.

However, hours later, in the early hours of Thursday morning, he was taken back into police custody.

Sandy, a former national goalkeeper, on Wednesday, shortly before 11 am, emerged from the main entrance of the Central Police Station being hugged by his mother and with his attorney walking ahead of him.

“I feel irie,” Sandy said, making a “V” sign with his fingers, as he walked to his lawyer’s office.

“I feel good to be out of lock up still, yo know. They done assassinate my character already. But such is life…” he said, as he sat in his lawyer’s chambers.

According to the young man, he left St Vincent on May 4 to seek employment in Grenada.

He told reporters he left St Vincent because “nothing was happening” for him here.

Usually reliable sources told SEARCHLIGHT that Sandy travelled to Grenada by boat and entered that country without clearing immigration.

“Ah go down by one ah me friend name Tafari to seek a work, to see if he could help me get a work down there, yo know,” Sandy said.

Sandy said while in Grenada, he worked for three days a week as a landscaper, for $80 a day. He said he even sent money for the mother of his child, the week before the robbery and shooting incident took place.

He said on the day he was accused of committing the crime, he placed photographs of himself on his Facebook page, with the Grenadian national flag in the background.

“I used to tell them stop call up my name on Facebook. You could check my status and see the time and everything,” Sandy said.

A few hours after the robbery, police circulated a poster with Sandy’s image, saying that he was “wanted” man by police and considered armed and dangerous.

The lanky resident of Brighton told reporters that he learned that he was wanted in connection with the crime when an acquaintance sent him a text message.

He said he also received other messages from persons stating that he was wanted.

He, however, is adamant that he was not in St Vincent at the time of the offence.

“That is impossible. Is just talk, talk,” Sandy said.

He said he made contact with journalist Dougie “Nose” Joseph, who then contacted Connell.

The lawyer travelled to Grenada on LIAT early on June 4, and just before 11 a.m. that same day, Connell returned to the state with Sandy in tow.

After disembarking the plane, Sandy, with his passport in his possession, was taken into police custody and held for 48 hours, the maximum time a suspect can be held without being charged.

Connell said when he arrived at police headquarters on Wednesday, he was informed that police wanted Sandy to be in a line-up, as part of an identification parade with eight prisoners in relation to an offence committed at Green Hill, three months ago.

The lawyer said he objected to that being done.

“Some of these prisoners were incarcerated at the time they allege my client did something… That alone rebuts common sense and there’s extreme difference in height, so we objected to that and the 48 (hours) was up and Inspector Williams released him. The investigating officer (Station Sergeant Hesron Ballantyne) was not even there. He was out on duty,” Connell said.

The lawyer said he asked the police what had been done over the past three months to bring Sandy in for questioning, in relation to the Green Hill incident

He said the police replied, “It was not of the magnitude of this offence. Therefore, we didn’t have to ask for anything.”

“I reminded them that the damage had already been done and the poster that they sent out was specific… Wanted in connection with the robbery on Halifax Street. Armed and dangerous. Where they got that from? I don’t know…,” Connell said.

Connell said his client’s passport, money and clothing are still in police custody.

He said he had made a suggestion that his client be taken to the hospital to visit gunshot victim Police Constable 384 Julanie Jack, to see if the officer could identify his client as the gunman.

He said that offer was not taken up.

After speaking to the media, Sandy hugged his lawyer.

When asked by Connell what he was going to do now, Sandy replied, “I going look for my son!”

At about 11 a.m., on June 13, a male snatched a deposit bag from a female employee of the Postal Corporation, who was returning from the bank. The bag is said to have contained approximately $100,000.

Constable Julanie Jack, who was in the vicinity at the time, attempted to apprehend the man when gunshots rang out.

During the incident, Jack was shot twice.

He is still recovering at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital.