Two men accused of cocaine trafficking were yesterday remanded to prison pending the start of their trial.
Shemroy Robertson, 31, of 101 Mandela Avenue and Odinga Chase, 29, of 169 East Ruimveldt Housing Scheme, appeared before a city court, where they were charged with having 1.156 kilogrammes of cocaine in their possession for the purpose of trafficking.
The men, who were represented by attorney Mark Conway, both pleaded not guilty to the charge. Conway made an appearance for the men in association with attorney Mark Waldron.
The attorney stated that there was nothing to suggest that either defendant was a flight risk, that they both had fixed places of abode and that neither was engaged before any court prior to yesterday’s date.
However, previous reports show that Chase has appeared before the city courts numerous times on charges of armed robbery, wounding, and a charge of attempted murder, where his brother, Shaka Chase, was the co-accused.
The case was prosecuted by attorney Konyo Sandiford-Thompson, who cited several reasons why bail should not be granted to the defendants. These included the fact that no special reasons were provided to the court, that Robertson’s exact place of abode was unknown and that he was pointed out as the “facilitator” by several persons, in a number of court matters.
Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, having taken those points into consideration, ordered that Robertson and Chase be remanded to prison until their next hearing on February 15.
