Rihanna’s uncle cleared of charges in Puma case

The police’s failure to properly identify confiscated items led to the dismissal of a landmark Puma trademark infringement case today.

Rihanna’s uncle, Leroy Fitzgerald Brathwaite, who was charged with selling fake Puma items, walked free of the May 29, 2017 charge after a successful no case submission made by Queen’s Counsel Andrew Pilgrim and lawyer Sian Lange.

Brathwaite, alias Daddy I-Roy, 55, the owner of the Upper Room clothing store on Swan Street and resident of 1st Avenue, Gooding’s Road, Station Hill, St Michael was charged that in trade or in commerce as a supplier, he falsely represented that 11 pairs of slippers and 13 T-shirts were of a particular standard, style or model, to wit, the brand Puma, contrary to the Consumer Protection Act Cap 326D.

Additionally, he was charged with exposing goods for sale bearing the trademark known as Puma which would mislead the public as to the nature of the goods.

Brathwaite’s legal team made submissions regarding the identification of the items based on the ‘chain of custody’ principle in law which seeks to establish that the items admitted into evidence were indeed the same items that were seized from the accused’s premises.

Pilgrim and Lange argued that the chain of custody was compromised and as such the physical evidence was unreliable “even when taken at its highest”.

In those submissions, it was revealed that Inspector 1021 Mark White and Louis Comvalius, Director of Disosa (a brand protection service provider hired by Puma) gave evidence that they initialled the seized items on June 2, 2017. However, during the trial, those items bore no initials from White.

As a result of this, the lawyer argued there was a break in the chain of custody and that opened the evidence to “possible shortfalls”. Those shortfalls suggested that the items were not those seized and that certain “untruths” were being told to the court, questioning the credibility of the evidence.

Inspector White’s evidence was said to be critical as he was the one who received the items and witnessed the inspection and identification of the items as counterfeit.

“Inspector White’s link in the chain of custody is the critical nexus which seeks to prove that the items seized in Upper Room on May 29, 2017 are the same items which Cornvalius identified as being counterfeit on June 2, 2017 and which were therefore kept and produced as physical evidence in this trial,” the submissions stated.

Today, as Magistrate Ian Weekes heard the matter, he examined the issue of “danger of unfair prejudice”.

“Where a chain of custody is broken, the question is ‘can that not amount to extreme prejudice to the accused?’,” he asked after referring to case law. He noted that the chain of custody was a fundamental principle on which criminal law is established.

“This evidence is critical in relation to the breaches the accused is alleged to have committed. The prejudice would outweigh us continuing…,” he said before informing Brathwaite that he was free of the charge.

Police Prosecutor Assistant Superintendent Trevor Blackman told the court that he would be appealing the decision.

The District “A” matter was heard in the No. 5 Supreme Court. (TS)