Even though they were granted bail totalling $4.5 million yesterday, six police officers attached to the North Eastern Division Task Force (NEDTF) spent another night at the Maximum Security Prison, in Arouca, after they were unable to post bail.
The officers: Steve Williams, 35, of Heights of Guanapo Road, Arima; Brandon Thompson, 25, of Seeyjagat Trace, Tumpuna Road, Arima; Ronald Samuel, 32, of Duncan Trace, San Juan: Kevon Patrick, 30, of Kingdom Avenue, Bypasss Road, Arima: Ryan Grandison, 27, of Tunip Lane, La Horquetta; and Dion Ottley, 31, of Bon Air Gardens, Arouca, are charged with a combined 46 offences.
Each officer was granted bail and ordered to report to a police station nearest to them every Monday and Thursday between 6 am and 6 pm and surrender their passport. Ottley was granted $650,000 and is to report to the Arouca Police Station; Grandison had the lowest bail of $500,000 and is to report to the La Horquetta Police Station. Williams was granted the highest bail of $950,000 and ordered to report to the Arima Police Station, while Thompson, Patrick and Samuel were each granted $800,000 bail and ordered to report to the Arima and San Juan Police Stations, respectively.
Williams, Thompson, Samuel and Patrick are charged with misbehaviour in office, false imprisonment of four people and robbing one of them of $53,000 and $4,200 worth of jewelry. The offences allegedly took place on January 5, at Kelly Village, Caroni.
Williams, Grandison and Ottley are charged with threatening to falsely charge three people for possession of cocaine, marijuana and a gun. The officers were also charged with robbing one of the trio of $125,000 and $55,000 worth of jewelry. All offences took place on December 12, last year, at Frederick Settlement, Caroni. Ottley faced two separate charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice on December 13 at the Santa Cruz Police Station and on December 12, last year.
Before granting bail Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar said she wanted to clarify ambiguity under the Bail (Amendment) Act which caused the officers to spend four nights in jail last weekend. On the last occasion, court prosecutor Insp Winston Dillon objected to bail citing the amendment to the Bail Act as the reason. Yesterday, Ayers-Caesar said that the officers were entitled to bail given the allegations made against them. She added that she wanted to clarify the legislation after seeing “some views on the matter.”
Ayers-Caesar said: “It is clear from reviewing the Hansard that the legislation was aimed at targeting the illegal firearm holders and not lawful gun holders.”
She added that the while the officers were charged with misbehaviour in office for allegedly committing armed robbery, that was different from a direct charge of armed robbery. She highlighted that there was a distinction between the two and that must be clarified.
Prior to the chief magistrate’s ruling, legal officers Insp Richard Taylor and Cpl Keston Abraham withdrew the original objection to bail. Taylor said after some research the State was of the view that the men were entitled to bail. Taylor said that the offence of misbehaviour in office was not one of the offences which denies bail for 120 days; however, perverting the course of justice is listed as a non-bailable offence according to the amendment. He pointed out though that the officers, in allegedly committing that offence, did not use their firearms and were therefore eligible for bail.
After adjourning the matters to February 15, Ayers-Caesar was thanked by defence attorneys Vince Charles and Sterling John, who represent the six officers, for “interpreting the law.”