Three young men are now remanded at the Dominica State Prison following their appearance at the Magistrate court charged in connection with a burglary at the court situated on Cork Street, Roseau.
Richie Renee, a 23-year-old from the community of Elmshall, was the sole defendant charged with burglary. Since the charge is an indictable offense –expected to be tried at the High court before a judge and jury– Renee was not required to enter a plea.
However, Kimon Emmanuel of Benjamin Lane, Goodwill and Kyan Joseph of Gutter Village, Goodwill, were charged with handling stolen goods to which they pleaded not guilty.
According to information from the court, it is alleged that between October 22 and 25, 2021, Renee burglarised the aforementioned Magistrate court and stole two TCL flat screen TV sets valued at EC$5,000.
The police further claims that on October 25, 2021, Emmanuel and Joseph handled the said stolen goods.
At the hearing, Police Prosecutor, Inspector Davidson Cadette, objected to bail laying three grounds for his objection to Chief Magistrate, Candia Carette- George.
Cadette said the men had a history of criminal offense, hence, the propensity to reoffend was great.
He also stated that the severity of the offense and penalty which is attached if they are found guilty. pose a flight risk.
The Police Prosecutor further argued that due to the public’s interest in the matter, considering that the items belong to the government of Dominica, bail should not be granted to the men.
Attorney Darius Jones who represented Renee, did not argue against the prosecution’s objection to bail. However, attorney-at-law Kondwani Williams who represented Emmanuel and Joseph said, while he understood the sensitivity of the matter, the grounds put forward by the prosecution were not sufficient to deny bail to his clients.
As it relates to the men being a flight risk, he insisted that stringent bail conditions such as a curfew and reporting could be imposed to ensure their appearance in court.
While he agreed with the prosecutor that the matter is of public interest, Williams further averred that handling stolen goods is not considered a serious offense under the bail act and as such, bail should be granted.
Following the arguments from both sides, Magistrate Carette-George said, upon entry into the court after the burglary, she felt violated and for that reason she would not, at the time, consider granting bail to the men.
“I try my best to be fair and just with all matters I deal with but this is a very sensitive matter to me,” she added before recusing herself from the case out of fear not of being impartial to the men.
The matters were adjourned to March 7, 2022. For Renee, the Preliminary Inquiry will begin to determine if there is enough evidence for the case to be tried at the High court while the trial for Emmanuel and Joseph will commence in the magistrate court on that date.
Seems stealing is only considered stealing when it’s done by the least fortunate amongst us. Defrauding the state of funds, is this not considered stealing and is it not a crime? Why don’t these judges take those crimes with the same passion and pain? A PM sold a diplomatic placement to a one Ali Reza Monfared of Iran, with his business partner Manjo Bullhar providing evidence of the money transfers plus detailing the intentions. No comment from any of our judges. So is this not a crime? The defrauding of the state in the construction of over priced apartments? Who is getting justice for the people of Dominica? Crime is not done by one set of us, apply the law equally!
If you can enter the court to steal, it doh have a place you cannot enter to steal.
The 2 men charged with manslaughter got $100 000 bail each….they back on de street…… and we all know their character…no bail for theft in a magistrate court.
If I was criminal minded….. you sending a clear message.
The court found a strong headed magistrate for the court break in……de magistrate in the manslaughter case was not the usual type of person to sit on a manslaughter case
From de outside looking in de Court de prosecutor will loose de manslaughter case….a clear message has been sent
@ dissident, you must realize that one of the two men charged with manslaughter is a known member of Melissa Skerrit’s Snipers and Melissa Skerrit is the wife of PM Skerrit and parliamentary representative for the Roseau constituency. Man we have a lot of trouble ahead and we just have to wait until Skerrit makes himself the president of Dominica