Lawyer tells court fine client, not send him to jail

For his role in causing the death of Samantha St Martin in a vehicular accident 11 years ago, Mario Rommell Neptune should be made to pay a fine.

Attorney-at-law Justin Leacock made the recommendation this afternoon as he made sentencing submissions in the No. 2 Supreme Court.

Neptune, of Long Gap, Spooner’s Hill, St Michael, is awaiting sentencing since pleading guilty to driving dangerously on June 27, 2010.

Leacock pointed to the fact that Neptune had also been seriously injured in the two-car smash up on the now Mighty Grynner Highway, which claimed the life of Taitt and left another woman nursing injuries.

He said according to the incident report Neptune had been speeding at the time when he lost control of the vehicle causing it to veer into the lane of oncoming traffic, causing the accident.

Leacock said at the time the lighting on the road was “poor to moderate”.

He said Neptune was not drunk or under the influence of any substance at the time of the accident and had a clean driving record prior to the accident.

As a result, he said his client did not meet the threshold for a custodial sentence.

Along with a fine, Leacock said if the court saw it fit it could also suspend Neptune’s licence.

In his sentencing submissions Crown Counsel Keith Robertson maintained that the offence was of a serious nature as a young woman had lost her life.

And while he agreed that Neptune should be made to pay a fine, he contended that it ought to be significant.

He suggested that the convicted man be made to pay a fine of $30 000 with the alternative of a one-year suspended sentence.

After listening to both sides Justice Randall Worrell adjourned the matter until January, 13, 2022.