A Guyanese visitor known only as Mankad has been remanded to HMP Dodds for the next 28 days on an indecent assault charge.

The 47-year-old vendor who lives at an apartment in Pine Road, St Michael arrived in Barbados on August 17 and was scheduled leave next week.

He is accused of committing the offence against a woman on August 24.

The Caribbean Community national was denied bail after prosecutor Sergeant Vernon Waithe informed Acting Magistrate Sandra Rawlins that he was already on bail from the Holetown Magistrates’ Court on a similar offence.

“I have no court story in Barbados,” Mankad said in his application for bail, stating that he had a previous case in which he was reprimanded and discharged by the magistrate.

However, a second check by police showed that he did have a case pending.

Rawlins inform the accused man that the charge before the court was “quite serious” and as such he would spend sometime on remand.

Mankad makes his second appearance on October 6 before the No.2 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court..

Chief Justice Sir Marston Gibson is hoping that by taking a shot at drug addiction he can help reduce the number of gun crimes here.

Sir Marston this morning announced a series of measures aimed at overhauling the judicial system, speed up the administration of justice and reduce crime.

One of his proposed plans is to make greater use of the drug treatment court with a view to shrinking the market for illegal substances, which he linked to rising gun violence.

The chief justice told members of the judiciary attending this morning’s opening of the new legal year that the court’s aim was to wean addicts off drugs and return them to society as productive citizens.

Therefore, he said, if the programme is successful it will reduce the demand for illegal drugs and, hopefully, the related drug wars.

“We have recently seen a spike in violent crime committed with firearms, and there is little doubt that much of the use of firearms is fuelled by the drug trade. We in the court join all right thinking Barbadians in deprecating the violence which has caused so many of us to cower in fear. We will continue in our own little way to reduce the market by reducing the number of addicts and we can only hope that this will in turn reduce some of the violence which we are witnessing,” he stressed.

The chief justice also announced an operational review of the Supreme Court’s Registration Department with the intention to “eliminate some of the duplication of effort in the registry” and to retrain staff, although he did not go into details.   

Another key plank of Sir Marston’s overhaul is the expansion of the mediation project which seeks to resolve non-complicated civil cases in particular, before they get to a judge.

He said the programme has had modest success, but it needed greater buy-in from lawyers.

“Although there have not been much publicity about the modest successes, cases continue to be settled through mediation. I use the word modest because there have not been nearly as much buy-in to the project as we would wish. Lawyers still say that their clients want their day in court, meaning their day before a judge,” he said, going on to state that the Supreme Court hosted a session recently for members of the Barbados Bar Association in a bid to “combat this absence of enthusiasm” and push for more cases to be resolved by the parties before they go before the judge.

One of the primary concerns about the judicial system here is the pace at which the wheels of justice turn.

It was just last week that former Supreme Court judge Carlisle Greaves suggested that the court system was partially to blame for the increased levels of crime gripping the country.

Addressing a Rotary Club of Barbados South dinner meeting at the Accra Beach Hotel, Greaves said the judicial system was simply not moving fast enough in prosecuting cases, adding that “a man that is locked up is very unlikely to commit further crime”.

“Today is a funny night . . . I said that because today, with all the crime that is going on and the gun [related] killings and so on, everybody is probably asking the same question: Why is this happening and what are we going to do about it?” Greaves said as he opened his presentation on the topic Aspects of Judicial Management – the Barbados to Bermuda Experience, Speeding up the Process.

“I think this is well known throughout Barbados that we have an inefficient judiciary. This is debated almost daily. The highest courts for our land [Caribbean Court of Justice] have criticized us repeatedly. I am not saying this as a criticism of our judiciary but as a realization that, for whatever reason it is inefficient,” he said.

Sir Marston today said Barbados was not the only jurisdiction with such a problem, noting that the United States, with far more resources, was struggling too.

However, he announced changes to the working hours of judges, taking at least one off the roster each month to allow them more time to write their judgments. This, he said, would help reduce the worrying backlog.

“I have from April this year instituted a de-rostering of High Court judges. It’s a directive for judges to take the time to write a decision. Two of the judges have said to me the de-rostering programme had actually given the opportunity to think,” he said, adding that judges could not be expected to find the time to resolve 15 to 20 applications per day, write decisions and still have time for life and family.

Sir Marston said the Court of Appeal, of which he is chairman, would also be afforded the same opportunity to write its decisions.

Meanwhile Acting Attorney General Michael Lashley told Barbados TODAY on the sidelines of the church service marking the opening of the legal year, that magistrates would be given more powers to impose heavier prison times as part of legislative changes to fight spiralling crime. Currently, magistrate can only impose sentences of up to five years for certain crimes.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb

A cutlass wielding Vincentian who sustained several injuries was today handed over to immigration authorities for his own safety.

Nekeila Ivan Durrant, 21, who lived at School Gap, Hindsbury Road, St Michael, admitted before Acting Magistrate Sandra Rawlins to having the offensive weapon in his possession yesterday, with the intention of committing an act of wounding.

Durrant, who appeared in court wearing a bandage on the left side of his forehead, one on his finger and also revealed he had a laceration to the shoulder, said his cousin had chopped him.

He explained that they were about to “film” a movie when conflict arose after he said “me ain’t be in no movie”.

Durrant said a fight ensued and when he looked back “the guy blast a bottle and it burst up my head . . . . I see a cutlass by the side and ran for it and then ran outside. . . and he brother just blasting bottles, blasting bottles.”

However, prosecutor Station Sergeant Carson Henry told the acting magistrate that Durrant was “the aggressor but got the injuries.”

“Let’s call Immigration and get him a safe flight home, because he well cut up,” Henry said, even as he disclosed that Durrant was expected to leave Barbados on Thursday.

Acting Magistrate Rawlins agreed, and reprimanded and discharged Durrant on the charge.

Acting Magistrate Sandra Rawlins has remanded two Bayville, St Michael men to prison for the next 28 days, despite strong arguments from Queen’s Counsel Andrew Pilgrim against their incarceration.

Twenty-four-year-old Niko Tristan Forde of #27 Lukes Avenue, and 20-year-old Dario Delisle Flatts of Block I, #2 Field Place are accused of entering the home of Lennox  Richards as trespassers on September 8 and stealing $300 from the homeowner. A firearm is alleged to have been used in the commission of the offence.

“The firearm has not been recovered,” Station Sergeant Carson Henry told the magistrate in his application against bail, as he also revealed the two men were already on bail from the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court.

However, Pilgrim, who is Forde’s legal counsel, said the seriousness of the offence was not sufficient reason for remanding the young men.

“In the context of justice in Barbados, you cannot get a trial in five years . . . . Justice ought not to sit and wait while the Crown prepares a file and gets the matter ready to see if they are going to be proven to be innocent or guilty,” he said, adding that if the prosecutor’s request was granted, it would show the court intended to allow the men to be “deprived of their liberty” for as long as five years.

Pilgrim, who has been practising law for the past 25 years, noted that he had clients who were on bail for as long as seven years and there were others who were remanded for as long as eight years awaiting trial.

He said it was also his understanding that there were more than 1,500 cases pending in the Supreme Court for different matters which were being heard by two judges.

“One of those judges has not done 15 trials . . . so let us do the maths. Let us calculate what that means in terms of the delivery of justice. The other court is better but is not far better,” Pilgrim said.

He said even if an accused wanted to plead guilty and his case was fast tracked, it took some nine months to get a sentence.

Pilgrim also contended that the argument about whether or not a firearm had been recovered did not advance the position against granting bail.

“My understanding is that the complainant in this matter, who may or may not be able to identify his assailants, is saying that he saw something silver in the hand of one of the men,” he said, adding that “hardly convinces” anybody that a gun would be recovered in the near future “or ever”.

However, the acting magistrate said her concern stemmed from the fact that the accused were again before the court while on bail on pending matters.

“I am not going to grant them bail at this time. Remanded until October 9,” she said.

Wounding accused Wendell DaCosta Ward was granted $4,000 bail when he appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court today.

The 58-year-old painter from Neils Tenantry, Belle Gully, St Michael is alleged to have maliciously wounded Margaret Ward on August 15.

He denied the allegation before Acting Magistrate Sandra Rawlins this afternoon. However, with no objection to bail and the magistrate accepting his surety, Ward was released and ordered to return to the No. 2 District ‘A’  Magistrates’ Court on November 27.

In the meantime, however, he must stay away from the complainant and not venture onto her premises.

A 32-year-old general worker, who damaged two tyres on the vehicle a female friend got a ride in with another man, is expected to know his fate tomorrow.

Appearing in the District ‘A’ Traffic Court this afternoon, Dewayne Colvin Yarde of 8E Church Village, St Philip admitted to damaging the tyres on Damar Taylor’s vehicle on August 31.

According to Station Sergeant Carson Henry, Yarde went to the Flash Zone Bar to collect the woman, but as he inquired about her whereabouts, “she was about to leave in another man’s car”.

The prosecutor explained that Taylor later parked and secured his vehicle but during a check the following day realized the tyres had been damaged.

“I just let out the air,” Yarde told Acting Magistrate Sandra Rawlins, who then told him that he should have walked away.

“If it is that she chose to go home with someone else, leave it at that, don’t go damaging tyres,” Rawlins advised Yarde whom she granted $1,000 bail until tomorrow.

Taylor is also expected to appear in court tomorrow.

Kelven Omar Bennett of Parks Road, St Joseph admitted today that he “had in a lil drinks” when he cuffed his coworker in the eye for no apparent reason.

The 24-year-old stock clerk returned to the District ‘A’ Traffic court today, a day after pleading guilty to assaulting David Smith on August 26, occasioning him actual bodily harm.

Smith, who is a driver at the business where the two men work, was waiting in the company vehicle when Bennett approached and struck him in the right eye. Smith drove off to avoid getting hit again. He reported the matter to police and Bennett was subsequently arrested.

“I can’t recall what the noise was about,” Bennett told a baffled Acting Magistrate Sandra Rawlins yesterday.

Today, however, Smith appeared in court and explained that he was sitting in the vehicle, speaking to another driver, when Bennett approached them asking “if we were talking his name, and just hit me”.

He further explained to Rawlins that he had no previous grouse with Bennett and was not sure why he was assaulted.

“That is the most bizarre thing I have ever come across,” Rawlins said, again asking Bennett the reasons for his action.

“To tell the truth, I can’t recall. I had alcohol in my system,” he replied, adding that he had never behaved in such a manner before.

Advising Bennett to “stay far away from alcohol” Rawlins ordered him to pay Smith $230 in compensation by September 26 or spend seven days in prison. Bennett was also placed on a 12-month bond to keep the peace. If he is charged and found guilty of any crime during that time, he will have to pay the court a $1,000 fine forthwith or spend three months in jail.

In another case today, the acting magistrate also ordered 32-year-old Dewayne Colvin Yarde of 8E Church Village, St Philip to pay his victim Damar Taylor the cost of two tyres he damaged on the man’s vehicle.

The incident occurred on August 31, after a female friend that Yarde went to pick up got into Taylor’s car instead.

Yesterday he told the acting magistrate that he “just let out the air” of the tyres, but Taylor said today the tyres had been punctured and slashed and could not be repaired.

Yarde has to pay $685.20 in two weeks or he will spend two months in prison.

A 26-year-old woman who pleaded guilty to one of two charges brought against her was granted bail today.

Nikita Hettie Maria Brathwaite, a resident of Yearwood Road, Black Rock, St Michael, is accused of using a vehicle without the owner’s consent or without lawful authority, sometime between September 3 and 4.

She told Acting Magistrate Sandra Rawlins that she was not guilty of that offence, but admitted to damaging a car belonging to Akinola Griffith on September 1.

However, prosecutor Sergeant Vernon Waithe told Rawlins that the Crown could not disclose the facts of that case at this time since the two charges were intertwined.

Brathwaite returns to court on September 14 when Griffith is also expected to appear before the acting magistrate.

She remains on $1,600 bail in the meantime.

A 22-year-old unemployed man who pleaded guilty to several cannabis charges has six weeks to pay the District ‘A’ Traffic Court a $2,500 fine.

Acting Magistrate Sandra Rawlins imposed the amount on Christopher Anderson Caesar of Champaign Land, Martindales Road, St Michael today.

The cannabis, which weighed 24 grammes and had an estimated street value of $310, was found in his home when police executed a search warrant yesterday.

Caesar was charged with possession, possession with intent to supply and trafficking of the drug, as well as possession of a grinder which was used as apparatus for the misuse of the drug.

After explaining to the acting magistrate his reasons for having the illicit substance, he was slapped with the fine for the trafficking charge. He will spend three months in prison if he doesn’t pay up by October 24.

Caesar must also perform 240 hours of community service by January next year on the possession charge.

He was reprimanded and discharged for the other offences.

A 25-year-old Guyanese national who arrived in the county as a child had to surrender his passport to a Bridgetown Court today after appearing on a trespassing charge.

Andrew Martin Thomas, of 1st Avenue Grazettes, St Michael, is accused of venturing onto the premises of Shadai Pratt on September 11, after being forbidden to do so. He pleaded not guilty.

Although not going into the facts of the case, prosecutor Station Sergeant Carson Henry revealed, after being questioned by Acting Magistrate Sandra Rawlins, that Thomas went onto the property at night and was apparently intoxicated.

The Crown’s representative also disclosed that Thomas had arrived in the country on a school visa but had not regularized his status since that visa expired.

His mother, who has legal status in Barbados, informed the court that Thomas had been in the country since the age of eight and had the necessary documents during that time.

However, she said, circumstances beyond her control had prevented her from filing the necessary paperwork to regularize his status subsequently. However, Magistrate Rawlins informed the woman that her son was old enough to undergo the process himself.

After being warned to stay away from his alleged victim, Thomas was granted $2,500 bail, which he posted with one surety.

He is to return to court on September 25.

Police are reporting a major breakthrough in their investigations into the murder of 49-year-old British businessman Steven Weare, who was reported missing last month.

Lawmen have also confirmed that the body of a Caucasian man, which was discovered in a remote area at Melverton, St George on Friday, September 1, was Weare’s.

The British car salesman, from Kirkham in Lancashire, was last seen alive in Burger King’s car park at University Drive, Black Rock, St Michael on August 23.

The director of Fylde Motor Company, who was reportedly staying at Newcastle Plantation House in St John at the time, was no stranger to the island.

As a result of his death, police have arrested and charged 35-year-old Sunil Decourcey Brome of #7, Alamanda Drive, West Terrace, St James; 30-year-old Keino Nakito Griffith of Pounders Gap, Westbury Road, St Michael; 26-year-old Christopher Darnley Michael Clarke of Oughterson, St Philip; 26-year-old Torio Akiro Watson of Block 6D, Field Road, Wildey, St Michael and 27-year-old Basil Alphonso Branch of Morris Gap, Westbury Road, St Michael.

The accused men are all expected to appear in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court later today.

Police have arrested and charged a fourth man in connection with the shooting incident along Spring Garden, St Michael on Kadooment Day in which 20-year-old Taried Rock was killed and several other people injured.

Diego Rayshawn Wilson, 17, of Spencers Gap, Baxters Road, St Michael, is expected to appear in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court today charged with 23 counts of endangering life and one count of violent disorder.

Three other young men – 17-year-old Elijah Copeland of Chase Gap, Halls Road, St Michael; 17-year-old Raheem Grimes of Chadderton Road, Carrington Village, St Michael; and 22-year-old Tristan Alleyne of Westbury Road, St Michael – were previously charged in connection with the incident and are currently on remand at Her Majesty’s Prison Dodds.

A teenager, charged in connection with the Kadooment Day shooting in which 20-year-old Taried Rock was killed and several other people injured, has joined three other accused men on remand at Dodds prison.

Seventeen-year-old Diego Reyshawn Wilson of Spencer’s Gap, Baxters Road, St Michael, appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court this morning accused of discharging a firearm on Spring Garden Highway on August 7 in a manner that placed 23 people in danger of death or serious bodily harm.

It is also alleged that he along with other persons used unlawful violence, which caused Barry Marshall to fear for his personal safety.

Wilson was not required to plead to the indictable charges when he appeared before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant with his lawyers Arthur Holder and Shadia Simpson.

He will reappear in the No.1 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on September 26 along with three other St Michael men – 17-year-old Elijah Copeland of Chase Gap, Halls Road; 17-year-old Raheem Grimes of Chadderton Road, Carrington Village; and 22-year-old Tristan Alleyne of Westbury Road.

A 20-year-old Christ Church man, charged with a number of offences under the Firearms Act, is to spend the next 28-days at HMP Dodds.

Jaquan Janeil Rasheed Stoute, of Kendal Hill B, is accused of having a firearm in his possession on June 2 without a valid licence and discharging it along Vauxhall in a manner that placed Timothy Chase and Andre Phillips in danger of death or serious bodily harm.

He is also accused of wounding Raheem Farnum on the same day.

Stoute, who is represented by attorney-at-lawAngella Mitchell-Gittens, was not required to plead to the charges when he appeared before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant this afternoon.

The matter will now be heard in the District ‘B’ Magistrates’ Court on October 11.

In the meantime, Stoute is scheduled to reappear in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on October 9 after pleading not guilty to possession, possession with intent to supply and trafficking of 25 grammes of cannabis.

A 39-year-old St Michael woman was released on $2,500 bail after appearing in a Bridgetown court on a wounding charge.

Patricia Meldonia Weekes of #17 Grant’s Avenue, Bayville pleaded not guilty before Acting Magistrate Sandra Rawlins to maliciously wounding Monique Reid on September 12.

With no objections to her bail, the accused woman was ordered to return to the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on November 28.

Also appearing in court on that date will be Keemo Calvin Antonio Phillips of Lower Walkes, St Andrew.

The 22-year-old man today denied wounding Shaquan Beckles on March 13 and was granted $2,500 bail following no objections from the police prosecutor.

A 50-year-old fruit vendor has been ordered to undergo an assessment at the Psychiatric Hospital over the next two weeks.

Junior Abraham Stephen Roberts, of Stuarts Land, Fairfield, Black Rock, St Michael, is accused of wounding Phillip Stuart on July 1 with intent to maim, disfigure or disable him or to do some serious bodily harm to him.

He was not required to plead to the indictable charge after it was read out by Acting Magistrate Sandra Rawlins in the District ‘A’ Traffic Court today.

And while there was no objection to his bail, family members, who were present in court, requested that he be kept at the Black Rock institution for observation as he has “a mental issue”.

Roberts returns to court on September 27.

In the meantime, Mellissa Jacintha Holder, of no fixed place of abode, was also sent off to Black Rock for assessment after pleading not guilty to stealing $100 cash belonging to Sherwin Redman yesterday and having possession of an apparatus for the misuse of cocaine.

She also reappears in court on September 27.

A 50-year-old serial thief who has been on remand since July for allegedly stealing $8,000 worth of alcohol from Pirate’s Cove had his spirit lifted today when secured his temporary freedom.

Dennis Rodney Beckles of #37 Golden Rock, Pinelands, St Michael was previously unrepresented by an attorney, but when he appeared today before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant attorney-at-law Andrew Pilgrim, QC, intervened and applied for bail on his behalf, and he was released on $8,000 bail.

As part of the conditions for bail Beckles, who has eight previous convictions under the Theft Act, must report to Central Police Station every Tuesday and Friday before 4p.m. with valid identification, and is barred from venturing onto any Pirate’s Cove premises.

Beckles has denied stealing 38 bottles of brandy worth $6,560, eight bottles of vodka worth $1,068 and two bottles of whiskey worth $373 sometime between June 3 and 16. He is due to return to the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on January 17.

A 57-year-old taxi driver who appeared in court charged with two counts of theft has been released on bail with the condition that he stays away from his alleged victims and their property.

Hallam Frederick Watson of Rock Hampton Road, Jackson, St Michael pleaded not guilty before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant to the charge of stealing $1,750 in cash belonging to Kimelle Harper sometime between February 1, 2013 and September 30, 2015.

He also denied stealing $2,250 belonging to Janelle Harper sometime between February 1, 2013 and November 29, 2015.

There were no objections from the prosecutor Sergeant Martin Rock to Watson’s $4,000 bail.

The accused, who is represented by attorney-at-law Kamisha Benjamin, returns to the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on February 7, 2018.

A Christ Church man today learned it was not wise to go partying while using illegal drugs, although he escaped prison.

Thirty-one-year-old merchandiser Kenneth Marlon Curtis Hartley of No.4 Cane Vale, Christ Church pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis and was sentenced to 160 hours of community service.

The first-time offender has until January next year to complete the sentence.   

The illegal drug was found in Hartley’s pocket on September 13 when police executed a search warrant at an establishment in Warrens where a fete was being held.

“You know how it is when you partying,” Harley told the Acting Magistrate Sandra Rawlins when asked whether he was a regular user of the drug.

“No, I don’t know,” said Rawlins, who explained that in her younger days she only went to simply have fun.

No conviction will be recorded against him if he “satisfactorily” performs the service.

He returns to court on January 26, 2018.

Forty-seven-year-old Paul Shurland Sandiford of 1st Avenue, Gills Gap, Eagle Hall, St Michael was today ordered to keep the peace for the next 12 months or face the possibility of a $1,000 fine or three months in prison.

Sandiford pleaded guilty to assaulting Yogendra Sawh and entering her premises on August 26 to pick avocadoes from a tree on his property, but which were hanging over the paling onto Sawh’s property.

It was the second time that Sandiford had conducted the offence, threatening his neighbour on both occasions with a knife, prosecutor Sergeant Vernon Waithe told the court.

On the first occasion, the trespasser had pulled out a knife and told the woman he would f*** her up if she went near him.

While she did not report the first incident, Sawh felt threatened the second time, so she contacted the police, the prosecutor added.   

Having heard Waithe outline the case, Sandiford pleaded for leniency.

“I have three children, the youngest is 23-months. A twin. A boy and a girl, he said.

“I start late ma’am. I come out of my shell late. You got to forgive me, you know how these things is,” he told acting Magistrate Sandra Rawlins adding, “My children really need me. Give me a little community service or something.”

Rawlins ordered Sandiford not to go onto Sawh’s property, and to stay away from trouble and the pears hanging over his neighbours property

“Yes ma’am. Thank you, ma’am,” was Sandiford exuberant reply as he walked out the door.