Tweet
NO BAIL - Jurors on corruption rap remanded
Paul Henry
Friday, November 20, 2009
Verona Samuels and Natalie Sill, the two jurors who police say were caught accepting money from the mother of a man accused of the murder of an ex-cop, were remanded in custody when they appeared in the Clarendon Circuit Court yesterday.
The two, who are charged with contempt of court, appeared before Justice Brian Sykes who ordered that they be assigned legal aid after they told the court that they were unable to afford attorneys.
Natalie Sill and Verona Samuels cover their heads and faces to protect their identities as they are led out of the Clarendon Circuit Court by police yesterday.
Samuels and Sill are today expected to appear in the Lionel Town Resident Magistrate's Court on a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Attorneys Hopeton Clarke and Garfield Haisley will represent Sill and Samuels, respectively.
Yesterday, the women appeared dishevelled in court and spoke in soft tones when questioned by the high court judge.
At one point Samuels, who sported a short skirt, displayed a feisty attitude when addressing the court.
On their departure from the court, the women used fabric to cover their heads and faces in an obvious effort to prevent curious onlookers from seeing them and denying photographers the opportunity to take their pictures.
Both women are expected to reappear before Justice Sykes on Monday when the charge of contempt of court will be mentioned.
Police report that the two were held in the bathroom of an eatery in May Pen on Monday moments after they collected $60,000 from the mother of Rohan Johnson.
Johnson is charged with the murder of Aston Ferguson, who was attacked and shot in June last year. He died days later in the Kingston Public Hospital.
Johnson, who goes by the alias 'Blazer', is the reputed leader of the King Street gang which police say have carried out several murders in Lionel Town.
The murder case against Johnson has since been postponed and will now be tried in the Supreme Court in Kingston.
The panel of jurors who previously sat on the case has since been dismissed and a new panel of jurors is to be selected.
Paul Henry
Friday, November 20, 2009
Verona Samuels and Natalie Sill, the two jurors who police say were caught accepting money from the mother of a man accused of the murder of an ex-cop, were remanded in custody when they appeared in the Clarendon Circuit Court yesterday.
The two, who are charged with contempt of court, appeared before Justice Brian Sykes who ordered that they be assigned legal aid after they told the court that they were unable to afford attorneys.
Natalie Sill and Verona Samuels cover their heads and faces to protect their identities as they are led out of the Clarendon Circuit Court by police yesterday. Samuels and Sill are today expected to appear in the Lionel Town Resident Magistrate's Court on a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Attorneys Hopeton Clarke and Garfield Haisley will represent Sill and Samuels, respectively.
Yesterday, the women appeared dishevelled in court and spoke in soft tones when questioned by the high court judge.
At one point Samuels, who sported a short skirt, displayed a feisty attitude when addressing the court.
On their departure from the court, the women used fabric to cover their heads and faces in an obvious effort to prevent curious onlookers from seeing them and denying photographers the opportunity to take their pictures.
Both women are expected to reappear before Justice Sykes on Monday when the charge of contempt of court will be mentioned.
Police report that the two were held in the bathroom of an eatery in May Pen on Monday moments after they collected $60,000 from the mother of Rohan Johnson.
Johnson is charged with the murder of Aston Ferguson, who was attacked and shot in June last year. He died days later in the Kingston Public Hospital.
Johnson, who goes by the alias 'Blazer', is the reputed leader of the King Street gang which police say have carried out several murders in Lionel Town.
The murder case against Johnson has since been postponed and will now be tried in the Supreme Court in Kingston.
The panel of jurors who previously sat on the case has since been dismissed and a new panel of jurors is to be selected.
Comment