Sealy fails in bid to get escape charges dismissed

Accused escapee Roger Rommel Stephen Sealy was on Wednesday unsuccessful in his bid to have two charges against him dismissed for want of prosecution.

Sealy of Newton Crescent, Pinelands, St Michael is accused of escaping with the use of force while being a prisoner on October 8, 2022. It is further alleged that he escaped on October 16, 2022 without the use of force when he was a prisoner in lawful custody.

Sergeant Verdon Forde told the court the file in the case on the first charge was ready and the prosecution would serve the accused with full disclosure at the next hearing. On the second charge, the prosecutor said that it was being worked on assiduously and he hoped that disclosure would also be served on the next adjournment date.

Sealy argued that the prosecution should not be given another chance as he had been incarcerated for some 20 months “which is essentially a prison sentence. I ask for a dismissal of the two charges”.

Looking at the charge sheet, Magistrate Angela Knight said that while it was noted that Sealy had made an application for a final adjournment on the cases, there was no notation of an alternative if that did not materialise.

But Sealy maintained: “The [State] had ample time . . . I asking for the charges to be dismissed for want of prosecution.”

His application was denied.

“I am not going to give a final date. There is an assurance that there is going to be full disclosure,” Magistrate Knight said as she adjourned the cases to September 11.