Martin Atwell, 45, the father of the East Ruimveldt youth who was remanded to prison last week on firearm and ammunition charges, yesterday found himself also before a court on a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Atwell, said to be a father of 30 of East Ruimveldt Housing Scheme, was read the charge that on May 15, at Georgetown, he unlawfully attempted to pervert the course of justice by contacting a witness to give false information to the police.
When the charge was read by Magistrate Judy Latchman, Atwell pleaded not guilty.
Police Prosecutor Shawn Gonsalves told the court that the witness had dropped off Atwell’s son, Jose Atwell, and then found a firearm and ammunition in the backseat of his car. The witness then reported the matter to the police.
The prosecutor noted that having heard that his son was arrested, Martin Atwell contacted the witness and asked him to meet him somewhere so they could speak about the matter.
Attorney Dexter Todd, who represented the accused, told the court that it was a matter of a parent being concerned about his son, which was not a crime. The attorney noted that the defendant’s son does not speak much English and when the man was contacted by the police in relation to his son, he just wanted to know what was going on. He stated that the accused tried to verify with the witness why the police wanted money for his son and in no way attempted to pervert the course of justice.
Atwell was subsequently granted his release on $200,000 bail and the matter was adjourned until June 5.
