Judge tells accused trial will start with or without lawyers

Three men and a woman facing firearm, theft and assault charges were warned on Thursday that their trial will begin next month, whether or not they have lawyers.

Justice Carlisle Greaves served that notice on St Michael residents Akmal Teril Haynes of Spruce Street, 38; 28-year-old Kerrie Shaquille Thompson of 14 Field Place, Bayville; and Michael Shane Olijuan James, 28, of Ashby Land, Nelson Street, when they appeared before him in Supreme Court No. 3 on Wednesday, not ready for their case.

Alana Nikita Crystal Nearvay of Ashby Alley, Nelson Street, St Michael is charged along with them but was absent from court.

Haynes and James have pleaded not guilty to having a firearm without a valid licence, theft of a firearm belonging to the State, and assaulting Ryan Selby on April 20, 2015. 

Thompson and Nearvay, in a prior arraignment, pleaded not guilty to firearm possession.

On Wednesday, when Justice Greaves asked the accused present if they were ready to proceed, they said they had not yet retained attorneys and were not prepared for the trial to start.

“This is a 2015 matter! How y’all mean you are not prepared?” queried the judge before using the Bible story of the five foolish and five wise virgins as an analogy.

“He who fails to prepare is a fool. So you have a serious charge here since 2015 which was publicised all over the country. I wasn’t even living here at the time and I look at this file and I can remember this here. And from 2015 to 2023 you have not put oil in your lamp.”

When James asked if he could receive legal aid, Justice Greaves informed him: “You do not qualify.”

“If you were saving $10 per day, $50 per week, you could have been ready for this because this is serious business… This is probably the most serious thing you would have to contend with in your life. The most important thing after life itself is good health and liberty,” he said before setting the trial date for October 16.

“You will be tried with or without attorneys,” the High Court judge stressed.

Justice Greaves announced that he would issue an arrest warrant for the absent Nearvay, but his action was halted by the appearance of her cousin who presented a sick certificate on her behalf.

When asked if she had the accused’s phone number, the relative said she did not know it and was unaware of where she lived. 

The judge then presented her with a note for Nearvay advising her of the trial date.

“Tell her that her trial date is fixed for October 16 and she is to be here with or without a lawyer and there is no sick certificate in the world that can save her. If she does not get here on that date, I will have her arrested and I will keep her in jail until whenever I get to trial next year,” he warned.