Home Blog Page 73

Newlyweds busted with drugs on beach

Lisa Brown
-
0
Newlyweds busted with drugs on beach

NASSAU- A newlywed couple spent part of their honeymoon in a cell after they were arrested for ganja possession.

Police were patrolling Cabbage Beach with a drug sniffing dog when the K-9 officer sat next to the couple.

The officers removed a marijuana spliff from Joseph Kurayev’s hand. They found five more spliffs in a cigarette box in a blue bag owned by Lily Fades.

During a police interview, the New York couple admitted to buying the drugs from a man on the beach. They said they didn’t know having marijuana was illegal here.

They pleaded guilty to drug possession at their arraignment before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt.

She fined them each $175 or one month in prison.

 

 

Lawyer’s suit against magistrate to proceed

Lisa Brown
-
0
Lawyer’s suit against magistrate to proceed

NASSAU- A lawsuit filed by a lawyer who was arrested after a heated exchange with a magistrate will proceed, a judge ruled yesterday.

The Attorney General’s Office, also also a defendant in the matter, had asked the judge to dismiss Romona Farquharson’s case against Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans.

The magistrate ordered Farquharson arrested and taken into custody on March 8, 2017 after finding her guilty of contempt.

Farquharson was in court to represent Melinda Clayton. During the trial a dispute arose over the admissibility of evidence.

The suit alleges that the magistrate ordered Farquharson to “shut up and sit down.”

Then the magistrate held Farquharson in contempt and ordered her arrested an taken to the cell block.

The magistrate allegedly directed the arresting officer to “take her through the prisoner’s dock. She is no different than anyone else.”

Farquharson alleges that the magistrate lacked the power to hold her in contempt.

What’s more, she was never told why she was held in contempt and neither did she have a chance to present a defense.

Farquharson said she was paraded past male detainees in the prisoner’s dock and taken to the cell block where she remained for three hours.

Farquharson is seeking damages of injury to reputation; damages for breach of constitutional rights; damages for wrongful arrest and false detention.

But Crown lawyers David Whymms and Sophia Thompson-Williams asked the court to strike out the suit.

They argued that the AG’s Office could not be held responsible for the alleged actions of the magistrate.

Moreover, they said the magistrate had “immunity” as she was acting in her judicial capacity.

So, if she couldn’t be held civilly liable, then neither could the AG.

They asked the court to toss the suit against both the magistrate and the AG.

However, Justice Diane Stewart didn’t agree.

Gia Moxey represents Farquharson.

 

Woman jailed for sex with teen

Lisa Brown
-
0
Woman jailed for sex with teen

ABACO- A woman has been sentenced to three years in prison for the statutory rape of a runaway girl.

Amanda Rachel Major, 24, will receive credit for the seven months she has already spent in custody.

Major, who is originally from Nassau, went to Abaco in search of a job.

While on the island, she met the 15-year-old girl. The minor ran away for several weeks in February 2021.

She revealed that she was with Major and that they been intimate.

Major, who made her first court appearance on March 30, pleaded guilty to sexual intercourse with a minor of the same sex in July. The age of consent in same sex relationships is 18.

Major didn’t have the opportunity to choose the venue of her trial at her initial court appearance on March 30.

 

Court cuts time for man who touched boy

Lisa Brown
-
0
Court cuts time for man who touched boy

NASSAU- An Appeal Court has cut the sentence of a 57-year-old man who had inappropriate contact with a 13-year-old boy.

Basil Cartwright was jailed for three years after he pleaded guilty to indecent assault in March.

He filed an appeal against the length of his prison term on the grounds that it was too harsh. The Court agreed and reduced his jail term to 12 months. With time off for good behaviour, Cartwright could be freed from prison next month.

The Court heard that Deputy Chief Magistrate Debbye Ferguson first thought about fining Cartwright $8,000 for his crime.

But she decided to consult with the victim’s parents first. The teenager’s outspoken father objected, saying that he expected “justice.”

That’s when Magistrate Ferguson did an about-turn and slapped Cartwright with the maximum sentence.

However, prosecutor Darnell Dorsette agreed with defence lawyer Paco Deal that the sentence was not sustainable since Cartwright didn’t get time off for his guilty plea.

But they differed on the appropriate penalty. For her part, Dorsette suggested a sentence ranging from one to one-and-a-half years. By contrast, Deal sought a sentence of eight months.

Dorsette suggested a sentence of either one year or 18 months. On the other hand, Deal said that a sentence of eight months was appropriate.

After considering Cartwright’s early guilty plea, good character and remorse, the three-judge court decided that a sentence of 12 months fit the crime.

 

 

Cops hunt killer who shot into car

Lisa Brown
-
0
Cops hunt killer who shot into car

NASSAU- Police have launched a search for a killer after a man was gunned down while sitting in a car.

Authorities say the incident happened around 7am near Wulff Road and Market Road.

The victim was in a car with a woman when a gunman opened fire, hitting him in the upper body. The woman was not hurt.

The killer fled on foot—and the victim was brought to hospital in a private car. He died in hospital of his injuries.

 

Teen charged with murder after Kemp Road shooting

Lisa Brown
-
0
Teen charged with murder after Kemp Road shooting

NASSAU – Police say they have caught the person responsible for a shooting that killed a man and injured a child.

Prosecutors say Robertho Clairvius, 18, fatally shot Arlington Stubbs and attempted to murder a teenage girl on October 5.

The shooting happened at Apache Alley, off Kemp Road.

The victims were in a car outside a shop when a gunman, whom prosecutors say is Clairvous, opened fire.

He was not required to enter pleas to the charges of murder and attempted murder when he appeared before Senior Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans.

She remanded him to prison and he’s next due to appear in court on February 2, 2022.

Finders’ keepers is a crime

Lisa Brown
-
0
Finders’ keepers is a crime

The saying finders’ keepers is popular among children. But holding on to found items could result in criminal charges.

The law requires you to deliver a found items to its owner, a magistrate, or other peace officer, within 48 hours.

Otherwise, you could be charged with stealing by finding.

Police arrested construction worker Leslie Hendrick Bodie at the Central Bank last month when he tried to exchange $872 in mutilated notes that he’d found while demolishing the Churchill Building, the former site Public Treasury.

Bodie might not have known the law regarding found money.  However, he did not know that the Central Bank redeems mutilated notes, provided there is one serial number and at least half of the Governor’s signature.

In a post-arrest statement, he reportedly told investigators that he had found a bag filled with cash in a wall.

Then, Bodie took police to his home in South Beach, where they recovered more damaged money in a black bag. Authorities could not determine the value of the rest of the money because of its poor state.

Certainly, Bodie couldn’t have a legal claim to the money, as it was undoubtedly public funds.

Bodie pleaded guilty and was sentenced to probation for three months.

Three years ago, a pregnant teenager was jailed for a month for keeping a Samsung J7 cellphone she’d found in the  food court at Marathon Mall.

Police arrested Sasha Newton after she demanded $500 to return the phone, worth $211.68.

However, her sentence was quashed on appeal.

In another case, police charged Hurricane Dorian survivor Ricardo Alvarez with theft by finding after he kept five boat engines that he claimed storm waters had washed onto his property.

Alvarez paid a $500 fine to avoid a three-month jail sentence.

In the eyes of the law, finders’ keepers, losers’ weepers is a crime.

 

Killers of teen mom to appeal against conviction

Lisa Brown
-
0
Killers of teen mom to appeal against conviction

NASSAU- Two women convicted of the stabbing death of their former friend intend to appeal against their convictions and sentences.

Zaria Burrows and Dervinique Edwards sentenced to 28 years’ imprisonment for their respective roles in the murder of 19-year-old Breanna Mackey.

However, Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson gave the convicts credit for time spent on remand. With those deductions, Burrows will serve 26 years and three months and Evans will serve 25 years and two months.

Breanna Mackey was kicked, stomped, pelted with rocks and bottles and stabbed in a petty row over a broken phone January 25, 2018.

Jolika Dumosle, who owned the phone, took a plea deal and spent two years’ in prison.

Burrows, who was pregnant at the time, used her car to cut off Mackey as she walked along Key West Street with her sister. She remained in the car during the attack that led to Mackey’s death and acted as the getaway driver.

Her passengers Thea Williams, Matia Sylverain, Davonya Lawes, Dumosle and Edwards got out of the car and attacked Mackey.

Williams produced a knife and stabbed Mackey multiple times in the back.

After the brutal murder, the women went partying. Police arrested Williams, Sylverain, Lawes, and Edwards at a motel. The officers found them huddled in a tub in the bathroom.

Burrows surrendered to police the following day.

Burrows and Edwards rejected plea deals and went to trial.

Williams, 22, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 25 years for stabbing Mackey. Sylverain, 18, who stomped Mackey, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 12 years. Davonya Lawes, 19, and Dumosle, 18, who admitted throwing rocks and bottles at Mackey served two years after pleading guilty to causing harm.

Copyright Bahamas Court News. All rights reserved.

 

British fugitive gets time served in plea deal

Lisa Brown
-
0
British fugitive gets time served in plea deal

NASSAU- A British fugitive, who spent five months in custody on fraud and money laundering charges, was sentenced to time-served in a plea deal.

Shane Ian Murphy has been deported to Cambridge to serve the remainder of his sentence for abusing his pregnant wife.

Murphy was sentenced to four years and four months in prison on the abuse charge. He admitted to breaking the woman’s leg and locking her in room, knowing that she was afraid of confined spaces.

Murphy was released on license halfway through his sentence. But he violated the terms of his release, resulting in his recall to prison in 2019.

However, Murphy fled to The Bahamas and avoided arrest. He lived here Shane Harrington until his arrest in May.

Authorities found Murphy with a Bahamian passport, National Insurance Board smart card, voter’s card Bahamian driver’s license under his false name. He obtained the bogus documents by using a forged Bahamian birth certificate and Bahamian voter’s card.

Police also seized €398,000 after they found the money in suitcase.

As a part of his plea agreement, Murphy paid $20,000 in fines to avoid spending three years in prison for the fraud charges.

On the money laundering charge, Murphy forfeited the €398,000.

He entered the plea agreement after a Supreme Court judge refused him bail.

Adrian Fox sentenced to time served

Lisa Brown
-
0
Adrian Fox sentenced to time served

New York – Island Luck cofounder Adrian Fox got no jail time as part of a plea deal yesterday.

Fox, 52, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the grossly negligent operation of a vessel, an offense that carries a maximum of one year in prison.

Prosecutors suggested a sentence of no-time to six-months in prison based on Fox’s philanthropy since committing the offence.

Judge Denise Cote sentenced Fox, who traveled to New York earlier this week, to time served.

Adrian Fox sentencing decision

The charge stems from an investigation into an organization that smuggled Chinese nationals into the United States through Haiti, the Dominican Republic and The Bahamas.

Fox played a minor role. He helped house the immigrants in The Bahamas and took them to the boat that would take them to Miami.

At times, the Chinese nationals were smuggled in hazardous conditions where there were more immigrations aboard than lifejackets.

Prosecutors said that from 2005 to 2008, Fox earned approximately $200,000 to $300,000 in the smuggling scheme. However, Fox quit the conspiracy voluntarily around 2008 and cooperated with authorities.

US Attorney Audrey Strauss said, “The Government agrees that the Court should consider the defendant’s withdrawal from the conspiracy, his efforts to cooperate with law enforcement, and the philanthropy he has engaged in since committing this offense under the Section 3553(a) factors. Because the Guidelines Range is 0 to 6 months’ imprisonment, a sentence within that range will appropriately account for these factors.

“For the reasons set forth above, the Government respectfully requests that the Court sentence the defendant within the Stipulated Guidelines Range of 0 to 6 months’ imprisonment, as such a sentence would be sufficient but not greater than necessary to serve the legitimate purposes of sentencing.”

 

 

1...727374...178Page 73 of 178
© Newspaper WordPress Theme by TagDiv

You cannot copy content of this page

Verified by MonsterInsights