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In a surprising turn of events, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has decided to discontinue the murder trial of Heywood Augustine, a day after a nine-member jury was empaneled to try the matter. On November 7, 2023, five men and four women were selected to try the murder case against Augustine, of Sandwich Street, Portsmouth.<\/p>\n
Augustine was accused of killing Derek Peters also of Portsmouth on January 1, 2018. Peters died from a gunshot in the back of the neck in the first homicide case in Dominica for that year. Indicted on a charge of murder, the Portsmouth man pleaded not guilty to the charge. Director of Public Prosecution Sherma Dalrymple who led the State\u2019s case informed the Court of the prosecution\u2019s intent to call six witnesses to the stand to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.<\/p>\n
However, the following day, when the matter was expected to commence, the DPP informed the Court that she had filed a notice of discontinuance in the matter. Her decision she stated was based on the absence of three eyewitnesses to testify in the matter as well as the evidence presented in the depositions.<\/p>\n
The defense team which was led by attorney-at-law Dawn Yearwood Stewart and assisted by Wayne Norde had no objection to the discontinuation of the matter. In response, presiding Judge, Justice Colin Williams, commended Dalrymple for a decision he deemed as “the right decision” in the eyes of the law.<\/p>\n
Despite potential public scrutiny, Justice Williams emphasized the importance of making decisions based on legal merit rather than succumbing to external pressures. “Don’t mind the comments, public opinions or public outcry,” Justice Williams asserted, “Those who share their opinions are not lawyers and as DPP, you have to make the right decisions in law as a Minister of Justice.”<\/p>\n
During the September sitting of the High Court, individuals facing criminal charges seem to be catching some significant breaks.<\/p>\n
Recently, the manslaughter case against Andrew Armour had only one of 12 witnesses testify before Counsel Zena Moore-Dyer moved a no-case submission based on the remainder of the evidence in the depositions. Justice Williams had no option but to advise the jury of seven women and two men to come back with a unanimous verdict of not guilty.<\/p>\n
In another instance, the DPP discontinued two separate sexual cases against two men. One of the accused men was charged with two counts of Unlawful Sexual Intercourse and Indecent Assault on a 14-year-old girl between January 1, 2019, and June 28, 2021. The other accused charged with three sex-related offenses against a girl aged 14 years, which allegedly occurred in 2019, had the case against him discontinued on September 29.<\/p>\n
Another case that was in the hands of the juries which saw a sudden end was that of Denley Joseph. On October 5, 2023, Dalrymple filed a notice of discontinuance amid the trial of the male adult of La Plaine, on charges of causing Grievous Bodily Harm and Unlawful Wounding.<\/p>\n
The trial was ongoing and the State was down to its sixth and last witness, the investigating officer, when Justice Williams told Joseph, “You may now exit the box” after the jury of six women and three men brought back formal verdicts of “not guilty” on the instructions of the judge.<\/p>\n
Counsel Wayne Norde conducted the defence of Joseph who was charged with causing GBH with intent, to Kamina Albert at La Plaine on Monday, August 5, 2013, and unlawful and malicious wounding. Following the notice of discontinuation by the DPP, Justice Williams advised the jury, and the unanimous verdict on both counts was that Denley Joseph was not guilty.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a woman who was charged with theft had the matter discontinued on September 22 by the DPP Samanthia Cabey. She was accused of stealing from her place of employment, Dev Trading Limited. According to the indictment, it was alleged that between March 31, 2009, and October 31, 2010, at Roseau, Cabey allegedly stole the sum of $159,838.15 in cash belonging to Dev Trading Limited with Shawn Sharma representing. She was further accused of falsifying 30 National Bank of Dominica cheques belonging to Dev Trading Limited required for an accounting purpose, with a view of gaining for herself.<\/p>\n
Yet another matter discontinued on the Court list during the September sitting was that of Uroy Vidal, of St. Joseph. The indictment was that, on October 17, 2016, at St. Joseph, Vidal, did assault acting Corporal of Police Naford Joseph with intent to prevent lawful apprehension by driving a motor vehicle toward the police officer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a surprising turn of events, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has decided to discontinue the murder trial of Heywood Augustine, a day after a nine-member jury was empaneled to try the matter. On November 7, 2023, five men…","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":301286,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[19,77,235,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-311677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-court-law","category-homepage","category-homepage-carousel","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n