Three men charged with the importation of 650 pounds of cannabis were remanded to Her Majesty's Prison Dodds today.
Curtis Wendell Bascombe of Block 6D Wotton Terrace, Christ Church, Liebert McDonald Brathwaite of Huntes Street Baxters Road and Desmond Raphael Braveboy of Coles Close St Philip, were not required to plead to the indictable offence. The trio was jointly charged with the offences of importation, trafficking and possession of the illegal drug on November 25.
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Curtis Wendell Bascombe, Liebert McDonald Brathwaite and Desmond Raphael Braveboy[/caption]
The men appeared before Chief Magistrate Christopher Birch at the St Mathias Court. Queen’s Counsel Michael Lashley and attorney Dayna Taylor-Lavine represented Bascombe and Braveboy while former prosecutor Neville Reid represented Brathwaite.
In objecting to bail, Station Sergeant Peter Barrow noted that two of men had prior convictions for similar offences. He also argued that due to the severity of the charges and strength of the evidence the accused may flea the jurisdiction.
However in response, Lashley argued that the prosecutor presented no evidence to suggest that his clients would not return to court. The lawyer pointed out that the 46-year-old Bascombe has only been married a year and has two dependent children. “I want you to cast your mind on the children,” said Lashley in his appeal to Magistrate Birch. “This is the time of year that child wants to be with their father and mother,” he said. Reid made similar argument for his client adding that he has a clean record for the last 17 years.
However while acknowledging that both defence lawyers made strong arguments, the Chief Magistrate remanded the men until December 12, 2018.
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