Senior Reporter
derek.achong@guardian.co.tt
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard, SC, has questioned the need for a proposed lawsuit over his office’s perceived delay in facilitating the trial of a group of men accused of the murder of Senior Counsel Dana Seetahal.
Gaspard raised the issue last week as he filed an affidavit in a lawsuit brought by one of the accused men, Earl Richards.
In the correspondence, obtained by Guardian Media, Gaspard, who provided a status report on the case in July, said that Richards’ case over the delay in filing the indictments against him and his co-accused, which is necessary for their case to be listed in the High Court and be case-managed for trial, was premature.
Stating that such challenges are only upheld by courts in the “rarest of circumstances”, Gaspard said, “I have not yet made a decision to indict. There is nothing to challenge.”
“I do not believe that the Claimant has demonstrated that he is being treated unfairly or that his case is progressing slower than any other criminal and/or murder case in T&T or that he has been denied due process,” Gaspard added.
Gaspard sought to reiterate his explanation for not filing the indictments while providing more context than in his previous status update.
He noted that after Richards and his co-accused’s preliminary inquiry was completed in 2020, his office only received an electronic bundle of the evidence presented before the magistrate last year.
He admitted that he had requested the original documents to compare to the electronic records, but the Judiciary refused based on a practice direction which only allows for the electronic disclosure.
He said that he is still in discussions to convince the Judiciary to soften its stance.
“I am optimistic that I will receive the originals from the Judiciary so that I can complete my prosecutorial assessment,” Gaspard said.
Gaspard also explained that his review of the voluminous evidence, which includes intercepted communications, call data records, and CCTV footage, would take some time.
“This requires me to analyse objectively, fairly, critically and independently all the evidence led before the magistrate and consider the sufficiency of evidence in the context of the prospect of conviction and, of course, whether a prosecution is in the public interest,” he said.
“The time spent on analysing the case, including procedural preparation, helps to facilitate a more efficient prosecution case once a decision to indict has been made,” he added.
Dealing with complaints from Richards’ lawyers Criston J Williams and Aaron Lewis, over the disclosure of the evidence against the men needed to prepare their defences, Gaspard noted that full disclosure would take place when he makes his decision on filing the indictments.
“All of these speculative ‘theories’ which the claimant has raised in relation to the murder of the deceased can, if he wishes, be raised at trial as part of his defence and tested by way of evidence and cross-examination so that there is no prejudice if I choose to indict him,” Gaspard said.
Seetahal was shot dead behind the wheel of her SUV while driving along Hamilton Holder Street in Woodbrook on May 4, 2014.
On July 25, 2015, Rajaee Ali, his brothers Ishmael and Hamid, Devaughn Cummings, Ricardo Stewart, Earl Richards, Stephan Cummings, Kevin Parkinson, Leston Gonzales, Roget Boucher, and Gareth Wiseman were charged with the crime.
Deon Peters and David Ector were charged under the Anti-Gang Act for being members of a gang, while Ali’s wife, Stacy Griffith, was charged with assisting the gang.
The gang charges were initially dismissed based on the fact that they were laid indictably (heard and determined by a High Court Judge and jury), as opposed to summarily (heard and determined by a magistrate), as required for first-time offenders under the legislation.
The issue resulted in Peters and Ector being freed.
The charge against Griffith was also eventually discontinued by the DPP’s Office.
The Court of Appeal eventually reinstated the charges for being members of a gang in 2020. Ector was murdered in July 2018.
Stephan Cummings was initially charged with the murder, but in December 2017, he was made a state witness after he agreed to testify against his former friends. The charge was discontinued against him, and he was instead charged with conspiring to murder Seetahal.
In July 2020, the group was committed to stand trial for Seetahal’s murder.
