After spending almost a month in prison, seven more men, who were charged under the Anti-Gang Act as gang members, yesterday walked out of the Port-of-Spain Magistrate's Court as free men. Their release took the number of detainees to be freed on gang-related charges in the past weeks in the Port-of-Spain, Princess Town and San Fernando Magistrates' Courts to 61. The men were immediately released from custody yesterday after State prosecutor, George Busby, told Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar, presiding in the Port-of-Spain Court, that after viewing the men's files, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard felt there was insufficient evidence to prosecute them.
Busby said: "I have filed motions of discontinuance of the charges against these men this morning on behalf of the DPP." Among the men who were freed were Vaughn "San man" Meires, 43, of Las Cuevas, and Cassius "Cass" Willams, 26, of Beetham Gardens, Port-of-Spain, both of whom were previously described by police as being "big fish." Willams was arrested by police while vacationing in Tobago four days after the announcement of the ongoing state of emergency on August 21, while Meires surrendered to Northern Division Police after being pursued by police and defence force personnel for several days.
On September 9, 21 residents of Nelson Street, Port-of-Spain, became the first group charged under Section 5 (1) of the Anti-Gang Act as "gang members" to be freed after Gaspard said there was insufficient evidence against them to sustain the charges. Under the Act a person convicted of being a gang member faces a maximum of 10 years imprisonment, while a person convicted as a "gang leader" faces a 25-year prison term. The other men that were freed were Kenneth "Spanish" Rodriguez, of 24th Street, Beetham Gardens, Port-of-Spain; Keron Mungroo; Jameel Cox; Jameel Hodge and his brother, Jevon. The group was represented by attorneys Wayne Sturge, Mario Merritt, Criston J Williams, Patrick Godson-Phillip and Owen Hinds Jr.
