Kevin Schambach walked out of court with a bright smile on his face as Magistrate Ann McLennan dismissed the narcotics charge against him on Wednesday at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
Schambach had been before the court in relation to a drug charge which alleged that on March 31, while on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway, he had in his possession 1.2 kilogrammes of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking.
At a previous hearing, Magistrate McLennan had overruled the no-case submission made by Schambach’s lawyer, resulting in him being called upon to lead his defence. The accused had chosen to do so by giving unsworn testimony from the prisoners’ dock.
In his testimony, he told the court that on the day in question, he was sent by someone who he identified as Daniel Davidson to uplift and transport a haversack to Land of Canaan when he was stopped by the police who requested to carry out a search on him.
Schambach related that it was during the search that police discovered several plastic bags which were suspected to have contained cannabis. The man related that he explained to the police officers that he had no knowledge of the contents of the bag as he was just transporting it as instructed by Davidson. He went on to make claims that he was told that if he paid the officers $280,000, they would set him free.
However, he contended that he was not in a position to come up with such a large amount of money, as a result, he related, he took the officers to the home of Davidson.
Schambach added that after officers arrested Davidson and established that Davidson had indeed sent him to uplift the bag, the offer of paying off the police was presented to Davidson, who in turn responded by asking the officers for a phone call.
This request, Schambach explained, was granted, while they were in the police car heading to the Timehri Police Station. The accused stated that after arriving at the police station, he and Davidson were booked. However, the man stated that he was placed in the cell while Davidson was allowed to sit on the bench.
According to Schambach, not long after, a man had appeared in the police station making enquiries about Davidson. He added that after the unknown man spoke to several police officers, Davidson was released from custody, leaving him to take all the heat for the crime.
The man’s lawyer said that his client’s testimony is consistent with evidence extracted from prosecution witnesses who were cross- examined. The lawyer went on to note that the prosecution was unable to substantiate the reason for Davidson’s arrest and release, citing that Davidson played an integral role in the police investigation.
Additionally, he stated that the prosecution failed to prove that his client had knowledge of what was in the bag.
However, Police Prosecutor Neville Jeffers submitted that the prosecution would have satisfied the court with enough evidence to prove that Schambach not only had full knowledge of the contents of the bag, but full physical possession as well. The magistrate had adjourned the matter to Wednesday’s date.
In addressing the court, McLennan expressed her satisfaction that the evidence presented to the court proved that the accused had full possession and physical control of the prohibited substance. She further stated that the evidence presented by the prosecution satisfied the court’s questions of chain of custody of the narcotic, explaining that she believes the chain of custody was not broken. However, she highlighted the fact that even though the court accepted that Davidson had sent Schambach to uplift the bag, the prosecution failed to substantiate the reason for Davidson’s release from custody.
Therefore, the prosecution failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Schambach had knowledge of the contents of the bag.
As a result, the case against the man was dismissed, and he walked out of court a free man.
