(Trinidad Guardian) A seven-month pregnant woman, her common-law husband and one of their neighbours from Diego Martin have been denied bail after being charged with being members of a gang. They were charged under the Anti-Gang Act.
Rhonda McMeo, her common-law husband Mark Ahyee and their neighbour Kurt Cudjoe, all of La Puerta, Diego Martin, were remanded into custody after appearing before Magistrate Marissa Gomez in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court Wednesday afternoon.
They pleaded not guilty to the offence, which carries a 10-year sentence upon conviction and is alleged to have occurred on diverse days between May 27 last year and last Sunday.
Police prosecutor Insp Callister Charles objected to bail for them, as he noted that they were alleged to have committed the offence whilst out on bail for separate drug possession charges.
Defence attorneys Alexia Romero and Sherise Chattoo challenged Charles’ claim, as they alleged that the criminal records presented for each were not updated to reflect that some of the pending cases had been determined in their favour. Both attorneys also claimed their clients had young children who are under their care.
“She (McMeo) has two children at her home waiting on her. They have not seen her since Sunday,” Romero said.
Gomez eventually upheld Charles’ objection, as she pointed out that Romero and Chattam were unable to provide evidence to substantiate their claims.
Gomez adjourned the case to September 11, when another magistrate is expected to consider bail after their attorneys provide court extracts for the cases listed on their criminal records.
During the hearing, Cudjoe was separately charged with possession of approximately four and a half grammes of marijuana, which was found in his house when he and his co-accused were arrested last Sunday. Cudjoe pleaded guilty to the charge.
In presenting a mitigation plea before sentencing, Chattoo asked for leniency, as she said it was a small amount of marijuana and that the construction worker had volunteered to participate in a substance abuse programme to stop using it.
“He has said that he is willing to get help as he is not setting a good example for his two children,” Chattoo said.
After hearing the submissions, Gomez fined Cudjoe $2,000. In the event that he does not pay the fine, Cudjoe will have to serve three months in prison with hard labour.
The trio’s court appearance was slightly delayed as Gomez sought clarification over whether the gang charge had been improperly laid by police.
At the start of the hearing, Gomez raised concerns over whether the charge had been laid indictably (heard and determined by a High Court Judge and jury) or summarily (heard and determined by a magistrate).
After a short break, Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) George Busby came to the hearing and informed Gomez that the police had properly laid the charge summarily, as required under the Anti-Gang Act.