Defence attorney challenges charge sheet errors

A 39-year-old man facing five charges in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on Thursday had his case stood down after differences emerged between the charge sheets presented to the defence and the court. Andre Ricardo Miller, of 4th Avenue, Parris Gap, Westbury Road, St Michael, appeared before acting Magistrate Shakieda Sealy, represented by attorney Wayne Clarke. When the magistrate read the first charge, relating to threatening words, Clarke rose to question the complainant’s name, saying it differed from the one on the charge sheet he had received. Andre Ricardo Miller being escorted by police after appearing in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on Thursday. (BT) The prosecution maintained that the charge before the court was correct and suggested that a typographical error may have occurred. “No, no, no, not a typo, not today,” the defence lawyer argued. Sergeant Verdon Forde replied: “The true information is what is before the court on the charge sheet”. You Might Be Interested In Clarke responded: “Do not let us go down that road…. If that is the case then something has gone amiss.” He continued: “I am presuming that investigations have been completed and he is given proper charge sheets. Why are we in this predicament? That is not a typo. The name that you read, the name that is on the charge sheet [given to the accused], that cannot be a typo.” The prosecution asked for the case to be adjourned briefly saying the correct name appeared on the charge sheet and in the facts of the case. The magistrate granted the request, but discrepancies also emerged in the other charges. Miller was alleged to have committed four drug offences on September 25 but Clarke said his client’s charge sheet listed the dates as September 25, 2026 and 2025. “It is a rush in connection with these matters. Go and come again, let him go home,” he argued, adding: “How does he know what charge he has to meet?” The hearing was suspended at about 11:55 a.m. and resumed at around 12:44 p.m., when all charges were read again. Miller is accused of using threatening words towards Gabriella Smith on August 26, 2025, allegedly telling her: “I gine chop off your head and put you in the hole that I dig for you in the yard”, causing her to believe that immediate violence would be used against her. He pleaded not guilty to that charge and four drug charges namely possession, possession with intent to supply, trafficking and cultivation of cannabis. The substance had an estimated weight of 187 grammes and a street value of $935. Sergeant Forde did not object to bail but informed the court that a document before the magistrate showed a warrant was outstanding for Miller from the Holetown Magistrates’ Court. But defence counsel Clarke accused the police of “practising trickery”, as he noted that Miller had been in custody since Sunday. He said police had undertaken to take Miller to Holetown on Monday but had not done so. “They have chosen not to take him to Holetown and then to have the audacity to come in here and to indicate empathically that there is a warrant out for him only indicates the vindictive position of the police. I say that for the avoidance of doubt that they had him in their custody between then and now, and to choose to make that a precursor or a predicate to object to his bail is unconscionable and unethical on the part of the police.” He added: “The rule of law must mean something to each and everyone of us, we ought not to practise trickery… do not come and tell me Holetown wants him, Holetown didn’t only want him today, and you had him for five days…. It is like offering a man a stove but then denying him gas – wicked.” The magistrate said she had noted Clarke’s position but her hands were tied regarding the warrant. Clarke also requested medical records, saying his client had “seven stitches which he encountered while in the police station at the hands of the police”. Miller was granted $9 000 bail with one surety. He must report to Black Rock Police Station every Wednesday before 6 p.m. and stay away from Smith. He was scheduled to appear in the Holetown Magistrates’ Court on Friday, October 16 and will return to the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on January 15, 2027. (JB)