Senior Magistrate Colin John acted in an honorable manner and recused himself from presiding over a case in which he may have been involved during his former role as Commissioner of Police. The gun and ammunition case involving Ashano Benjamin and co-accused Kemani Gould has been moved from the Serious Offenses Court to the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court.
Benjamin, aged 26, and Gould, aged 27, both hailing from Barrouallie, have been charged together for possession of a .40 Smith and Wesson pistol and six rounds of .40 ammunition, without licenses. The charges were filed against them as a result of a police action that occurred at Arnos Vale between October 7 and 28, 2023.
During the court proceedings on April 24, Senior Magistrate Colin John declared that he would have to recuse himself from a case that had been in the Serious Offenses Court since November 13, 2023. It is important to note that this declaration was made before any request for recusal was made by the defense.
His decision was made on the basis that he was Commissioner of Police when the men were charged, and one of the defendants is the son of Assistant Commissioner of Police Christopher Benjamin who served under him. The matter was then transferred to the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court for a trial date to be set.
The men maintained their innocence when they appeared before Senior Magistrate Tamika McKenzie at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court on Monday, and a trial date was set for June 19.
On their first appearance at the Serious Offenses Court on November 13, 2023, the men had pleaded not guilty before then Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne and were each granted $15,000 bail with one surety.
Browne had ordered the disclosure of all relevant material to the case by November 20, 2023, and the matter was adjourned to November 27 for trial.
However, on November 14, Benjamin’s lawyer Grant Connell made an application to the Court for the gun, in question, to be forensically examined for the detection of fingerprint. But the then Chief Magistrate suggested that Connell wait until November 20 to see whether the prosecution included the forensic analysis of the gun as part of their disclosure.
When the matter was called on November 27, Prosecutor Renrick Cato told the Court that the Prosecution was ready to proceed but the Court had received letters from Connell and Gould’s lawyer Israel Bruce requesting an adjournment. He noted that Connell said he was engaged in another matter in the High Court, while Bruce was overseas on other legal business. As a result, the matter was further adjourned to January 11.
However, there were delays of some matters since the Serious Offenses Court did not sit for several months, this occasioned by the Chief Magistrate’s appointment as acting High Court Judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (OECS) to serve from January 8 to March 31, 2024, in St. Lucia. She was elevated to High Court Judge of the OECS on April 1, 2024.
Former Commissioner of Police Colin John, who was sworn in as Senior Magistrate on December 1, 2023, and initially presided over the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court, recently took up duties at the Serious Offenses Court, triggering the resumption of that Court, while former Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Tamika McKenzie, who was sworn in as Senior Magistrate on April 2, 2024, presides over the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court.
