One of the 11 men accused of murdering former Independent Senator Dana Seetahal, SC, claims to have been abused by police and prisons officers.
Devaughn Cummings made the allegation before the start of yesterday’s second hearing of the preliminary inquiry into Seetahal’s assassination in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court.
When the case was called by Senior Magistrate Indrani Cedeno, Cummings, who was seated in the prisoner dock, immediately got up and made his complaint. He said while being searched by police in the holding cells at the St Vincent Street courthouse, he told one of them not to place his bag with his court attire on the dirty floor.
“The officers just start to lash me,” Cummings said.
He also claimed to have been the victim of several unprovoked attacks at the hands of prisons officers while in prison.
“When the officers see me they does say that is the man who murder Dana and attack me,” Cummings added.
During yesterday’s hearing, special State prosecutor Elaine Green tendered the witness statements of a crime scene investigator who processed Seetahal’s crime scene into evidence. Defence attorneys were then given an opportunity to cross-examine the witness.
Yesterday’s hearing was the first since Cedeno dismissed a preliminary application from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to amened a series of charges under the Anti-Gang Act, which were laid against the 11 men charged with Seetahal’s murder and three people others who were not: David Ector, Devon Peters and Stacy Griffith.
In its application, the DPP’s Office had admitted to laying the charges indictably (heard and determined by a High Court Judge and jury), as opposed to summarily (heard and determined by a magistrate) as prescribed by the legislation.
However, Cedeno said the amendment could not be permitted as she felt the accused would be prejudiced by it. Her decision on May 27 saw Peters being freed. Ector was not immediately released as he had an outstanding warrant for an unrelated offence and Griffith because she still faces a charge under the Anti-Gang Act in Seetahal’s case that was laid correctly.
Rajaee Ali, his brothers Ishmael and Hamid Ali, Devaughn Cummings, Ricardo Stewart, Earl Richards, Stephan Cummings, Kevin Parkinson, Leston Gonzales, Roget Boucher and Gareth Wiseman are accused of Seetahal’s murder.
Seetahal was shot dead behind the wheel of her SUV while driving along Hamilton Holder Street, Woodbrook, on May 4, 2014.
The accused men’s legal team includes Criston J Williams, Sade Duprey and Jennifer Osbourne. The inquiry will resume on June 23.