The recent departure of former Chief Magistrate Ivan Walters has impacted the criminal 14-month-old case involving calypsonian Leston “Young Destroyer” Jacobs and his co-accused Ceylon Howe and Charlesworth Ambrose.
Since the magistrate did not complete the trial, a new magistrate has to take on the case, and restart the entire process.
Yesterday, Magistrate Keith Thom set January 31 as the date for the commencement of trial.
Two of the three accused have already spent more than a year on remand awaiting the completion of the case since they could not afford the bail granted by the High Court. They were further remanded yesterday.
Jacobs spent five months on remand and finally made bail late April 2010.
The trio was arrested in November 2009, for gun and ammunition possession and their trial began in February last year.
Yesterday, Ambrose’s lawyer Ralph Francis asked the court to set an early date to recommence the trial.
Jacobs, 28, Howe, 19 and Ambrose, 24 are jointly charged for possession of a 30 30 rifle and a 12-gauge shotgun, in addition to possession of 26 rounds of shotgun cartridges, 13 rounds of 9mm ammunition and 63 rounds of .22 calibre ammunition. The weapons were found on November 23, 2009.
They are also accused of stealing the rifle, property of Conrad Jacobs.
(More in today’s Daily OBSERVER)
