Courts
DPP: Appeal court sends strong deterrent message
(CNS): The lengthy tariffs that prosecutors secured in the Grand Court over the last few years for killers now serving life sentences in HMP Northward were all upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2019, which the director of public prosecutions said serves as an important deterrent. In his address at the opening of the […]
Court project delayed by redtape
(CNS): Chief Justice Anthony Smellie has said that red-tape is holding up the redevelopment of the Scotia Building, acquired by the government more than a year ago to provide much needed new court rooms. Speaking at the annual official opening of the Grand Court, on Wednesday, he told the legal fraternity gathered for the event […]
Jury faces 100s of dox as gold smuggling case resumes
(CNS): The trial of five men who are accused of being involved in an illegal gold smuggling venture resumed this week, after a near month-long break, with the presentation of mountains of documents. The first witness to take the stand as the crown re-opened the case was a police intelligence officer who specialises in electronic […]
Woman discharged on NAU fraud conviction
(CNS): A 66-year-old woman walked away from court without a conviction Thursday, despite having admitted a fraud related charge after she failed to declare she owned a house worth around $290,000 while claiming money from the Needs Assessment Unit. Hermine Stoney had claimed poor relief for a seven year period, receiving just under $30,000. But […]
Juvenile jailed for 2+ years for armed burglary
(CNS): A teenager who broke into a family member’s home armed with a gun when he was just 16 years old was sent to prison this week to serve a 28-month sentence. The crown was unable to say whether or not the gun was real but the teenager used it to threaten the victim. However, […]
Teen will spend Christmas in jail
(CNS): Jose Swaby Ebanks (18) was sent to prison just a week before Christmas to serve his first ever custodial sentence after a judge found that his violent attack on a 16-year-old boy was extremely serious and required immediate jail time. Justice Linda Dobbs handed Ebanks a twelve-month sentence but reduced it to nine months […]
Violent burglar jailed for 10 years
(CNS): Ryan Elijah Ebanks has been given another lengthy jail term for a serious and violent crime after the serial offender was convicted of a home invasion in West Bay earlier this year. He was jailed for ten years Wednesday for an aggravated burglary in Mona Lisa Way, where he broke into the home of […]
Ex-officer denies scamming vulnerable victim
(CNS): Daniel Meeks (34) denied conning a senior citizen into placing his name on her property deeds when he gave evidence on his own behalf at his trial last week. Meeks is charged with misconduct in public office. The crown alleges that he scammed a 73-year-old George Town woman into signing over half her home […]
Pastor cleared of forgery
(CNS): Christopher Murray, a pastor at Bethel Refuge Apostolic Church in Prospect, who was charged with forging the signatures of founding members on documents relating to the church’s formation and registering it as a charity, was acquitted by a jury on Monday of one count of forgery, and one count of uttering a false document. […]
Man denies 13 charges of domestic abuse
(CNS): Mekko Theodore Gooden pleaded not guilty Friday to 13 counts of assault and threats to kill in relation to the abuse of a woman over an 18-month period. The various incidents relating to the charges happened where the couple were living and in public places, according to the indictment read to the court. Gooden […]
Gold smuggling trial beset with delays
(CNS): After a week of closed door legal hearings, the trial of five men in a gold smuggling case was due to get underway this week. While the crown was scheduled to open the case Monday, illness plagued the jury, which was empaneled last month and the trial was adjourned. The complex cross-border money laundering […]
