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Magistrate Pearl Williams on Wednesday blocked, on procedural grounds, an attempt by the prosecution to present a removal order from the Chief Immigration officer, for four Haitians to be repatriated to Haiti. However, she imposed a fine against the men who had pleaded guilty to attempted illegal exit.<\/p>\n
Last week, the four Haitians, Celes Benoit, Wisken Saint-Pierre, Wilvensky Joseph and Asly Tibeau, as well as one Dominican Delbert Michael Xavier of Scotts Head all rendered guilty pleas at their first court appearance.<\/p>\n
According to the facts of the case, on Monday, March 22, 2021, about 9:00 a.m, the Commonwealth of Dominica Coast Guard responded to a call from the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) of Martinique about a boat named One-Shot which was in distress about four nautical miles outside of Scotts Head.<\/p>\n
Coast Guard Officers, aboard a Coast Guard vessel, went in search of the boat on the south of the island but they were unable to locate the men in that area.<\/p>\n
The crew then moved west of Scotts Head where they noticed some disturbance and saw an open keel vessel named \u2018One Shot\u2019 registration #J7090SFE powered by one 60 horsepower Yamaha engine. The officers identified the boat as that reported by the MRCC and escorted the passengers to the Coast Guard Base.<\/p>\n
On arrival,\u00a0 nine passengers aboard the boat were asked to disembark. Personnel attached to the Crime Investigation Department (CID) processed the men and Custom Officers searched their belongings before they were transferred to the government quarantine facility.<\/p>\n
At the hearing, attorney-at-law Wayne Norde who represented three of the Haitians, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, stating that the men attempted to leave the country in search of a better life for themselves and their families.<\/p>\n
He told the court that in recent times, it became difficult for the men to get an extension of their stay in Dominica even after having entered the country legally in 2018 and 2019 respectively.<\/p>\n
Tibeau, who mitigated on his own behalf through an interpreter, told Magistrate Williams that he suffered from cataracts and he had tried on several occasions to get assistance in Dominica for his illness.<\/p>\n
According to him, following many failed attempts, he had requested to be deported back to Haiti but immigration officials had denied his request.<\/p>\n
Also mitigating on behalf of Xavier, Norde said the 46-year-old fisherman was a first time offender and trying to assist one of the Haitians who complained of being unwell.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour Honour,\u00a0 he agreed to bring one Haitian to Martinique for medical attention but on the day they were supposed to leave, like ants, he saw several other Haitians approach the boat asking for a ride to Martinique,\u201d Norde stated.<\/p>\n
Despite reports by the Haitians that they paid Xavier to transport them, he told the court that no monetary agreement was made but the men did promise him fuel for his trip.<\/p>\n
At sentencing, the prosecutor again presented a removal order for the Haitians on behalf of the Chief Immigration Officer.<\/p>\n
However, Magistrate Williams dismissed the order and stated that at the adjournment last week, she had informed the prosecution that such a request must first be filed before being presented to the court.<\/p>\n
In doing so, she said the prosecution affords the defendants a proper opportunity to defend the application brought against them.<\/p>\n
She dismissed the said application and imposed a fine of $2,500.00 to be paid forthwith by each of the four Haitians. In default the men will be imprisoned for three months.<\/p>\n
As it relates to the Dominican, for his involvement in the matter, he was fined $5,000.00 to be paid in two instalments. The first payment of $2,500.00 must be received on or before April 30, 2021, and the balance of $2,500.00 to be paid by May 31, 2021.<\/p>\n
In default, he will be imprisoned for six months.<\/p>\n
According to the police, the four other men aboard the boat which included three Haitians and a Dominican, are said to have escaped whilst in the government quarantine facility.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Magistrate Pearl Williams on Wednesday blocked, on procedural grounds, an attempt by the prosecution to present a removal order from the Chief Immigration officer, for four Haitians to be repatriated to Haiti. However, she imposed a fine against the men…","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":225590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[19,235,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-265919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-court-law","category-homepage-carousel","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n