The charge against the Tower Suites and Club Privilege employees, who were accused of attempting to obstruct justice by deleting video footage of a shooting that took place at the nightclub, was dismissed on Thursday after the main police witness was a no-show.
Andre Rochford, of Lot 28 Victoria Street, Arouca, Trinidad and Tobago, who is the manager of Club Privilege; Keisha Phillips, of Republic Park, East Bank Demerara, who is the General Manager of Tower Suites Hotel; and Ronald O’Brien, of D’Urban Street, a technician, were charged with willfully attempting to obstruct the course of justice by deleting CCTV footage depicting a shooting incident.
The charge was dismissed by Magistrate Judy Latchman after the main police witness, Corporal Gary Gordon, did not appear in court.
Police Prosecutor Shawn Gonsalves had called several witnesses prior to the magistrates decision.
However, Magistrate Latchman announced that a prima facie case was not made out against the defendants and the matter was subsequently dismissed. The three defendants were represented by attorney Mark Waldron.
At around 3am on January 8th, there was an exchange of gunshots inside Club Privilege, which resulted in injuries. The club’s management failed to make the necessary report to the police. It was not until the afternoon when an injured person provided the police with information that they were made aware of the shooting.
Before investigators arrived at the scene, the area had been cleaned, including of blood, and spent shells were picked up. However, there were visible bullet holes in the the club.
