‘Time served!’ - Elroy G. OKeiffe freed
Speaking with Virgin Islands News Online after the ruling, Mr Rowe said the Court of Appeal and the prosecution agreed with the defense’s submission that Senior Magistrate Tamia Richards had failed to properly take mitigating factors into consideration in sentencing Okeiffe as was required under the sentencing guidelines.
The defense had proposed to the court a minimum of three years be imposed to the charges Okeiffe had pleaded guilty to.
The defendant had been in court since April 18, 2012. “I pointed out to the court that he, in fact, had already served two years and five months in prison,” said Rowe.
“So the court felt for that reason they would treat the two years and five months that he had been in the lock-ups as sufficient punishment and sentenced him to what is termed in law – Time Served and he was immediately released.”
Rowe in representing the known car dealer said back in 2012 prior to Magistrate Richards passing sentence, “We [had] said look he had pleaded guilty in the mitigation, he apologised, we brought two character witnesses, we had the police, the police admitted that they did not know him to be a dealer so it was very likely that he had found the drugs.”
He further explained that when Senior Magistrate Tamia Richards had returned with her decision she imposed the maximum sentence on Okeiffe. “…which is five years that she has as a magistrate and without taking into consideration any of the mitigating factors.”
According to Rowe, it was on the basis of Senior Magistrate Richards failing to take into account the mitigating factors and particularly her failure to state in her written judgment that an appeal was filed.
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