(Trinidad Express) Ancil “Smokey” Richards, the man accused of murdering Vonetta Haynes-Reyes, 31, and her sons, Malik, eight, and Makasi, four, at their La Horquetta home on July 21, yesterday appeared before an Arima magistrate, charged with the murders.
Richards, the 23-year-old neighbour of the victims, stood before Senior Magistrate Indra Ramoo-Haynes in the First Court as the charges of murdering Haynes-Reyes and her sons were read to him.
Dressed in a blue T-shirt and blue jeans, Richards, a welder, occasionally glanced at his relatives seated in the public gallery. The only time Richards spoke was when Ramoo-Haynes asked him his name.
The case against Richards was the first matter to be called before Ramoo-Haynes, which lasted for approximately ten minutes before a packed courtroom. After reading the indictable charges, she told Richards he will remain in prison throughout the duration of the matter. The case was adjourned to September 1.
According to the charges, between Wednesday, July 20 and Friday, July 22, Richards murdered Haynes-Reyes and her two sons in Plumbago Avenue, La Horquetta.
His attorney, Collin Selvon, told Ramoo-Haynes he had concerns that certain aspects of the evidence in the matter were being aired in the media.
Selvon said his client could be prejudiced due to the publication of such, given the publicity it has generated. He called on Ramoo-Haynes to instruct the media to desist from printing information on the case.
“…The entire (alleged) ‘confession’ (of my client) is flashed across the media. Snip-bits of the evidence in the matter continue to be leaked to the media.
“…The media seems bent on trying the matter in the public domain. I don’t want a feeding frenzy (by the media) to continue. I am very much concerned with this matter, which continues to be litigated in the public domain.
“…I request that you put a stop to it,” Selvon told Ramoo-Haynes.
In response, Ramoo-Haynes said she had no authority to instruct members of the media on what they should and shouldn’t report. She advised Selvon to raise his concerns with Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard. She told Selvon if he had doubts with the integrity of the court adjudicating on the matter on its own merit, the court was not swayed or concerned with what is reported in the press.
“I don’t have the powers to put a lid on the media. This is the arraignment of the accused. I have done what I’m supposed to do and that is the end of this case.
“You should raise your concerns with Mr Gaspard. He probably has the powers to demand that the press refrain from printing sensitive information on the matter. I don’t have the authority to tell anyone what they ought and ought not to do,” Ramoo-Haynes stated.
After his lengthy submission in an attempt to get Ramoo-Haynes to place a gag on the media was rejected, Selvon agreed with the magistrate, stating he intended to write to the DPP on the issue.
He also called for a speedy hearing and requested disclosure from the prosecution. At this time, court prosecutor Sgt Fitzgerald Johnson said the matter was a few days old and the file was being prepared to be sent to the office of the DPP, so a State attorney could be appointed in the matter.
“Mr Selvon, you know the drill. You will get the disclosure in due course,” Ramoo-Haynes ended.
Earlier, while Richards was being led into the courthouse by detectives Ameer Mohammed, Sunil Ramoutar and Sgt Curt Simon of the Region II Homicide Bureau of Investigations, he was jeered by a handful of spectators gathered outside the courthouse.
Officers of the Northern Division Task Force assisted homicide officers in escorting the accused from the Arouca Police Station to the courthouse yesterday. Officers believed Richards’s life may have been at risk, given the sensitive nature of the offence.
Haynes-Reyes and her sons were laid to rest, side by side, at the D’Abadie Cemetery last week, following a funeral service at Allen’s Funeral Home and Chapel in Arima, one week after they were found murdered in their home.
