Judge Advocate Lieutenant Commander Rita Evans says Private Shane Coulthrust should answer to nine of the 11 charges against him.
Evans provided this advice on Friday during the Ordinary Court Martial at the Hodgson Hall Conference Centre, St Ann’s Fort.
The advice was accepted by President of the Court Martial, Lt Cdr Fernella Cordle, who called on the defence to present their case.
The defence maintained that there was a significant lack of empirical evidence to convict the accused.
Coulthrust told the court in his unsworn statement that he ventured an additional four to five miles out-to-sea to conduct routine training with the junior seamen onboard.
He said he followed all briefings and customary practices of the Barbados Coast Guard, which also included not carrying a personal cellphone to sea and the crew on the duty vessel must have confused the GPS device with a cellphone.
Counsels will deliver closing arguments on Tuesday.
