Defence attorney for Violet ‘Letty’ Hodge, Julian Knowles QC today April 14, 2015 destroyed one of the Crown's key witnesses in the case, Roberto Mendez Hurtado, telling him that his client never met him after the witness got key information about his client wrong. Photo: VINO/File

The defence poked holes in evidence as presented by an officer of the US' DEA yesterday April 13, 2015 regarding a rifle found in a large refrigerator in a house as the trial of Violet ‘Letty’ Hodge and Lucien Smith continued. Photo: VINO/File

Hurtado is currently serving time in prison in Miami, Florida, USA having been convicted of a drug offence. He has been sentenced to 228 months and a supervised release in five years. According to the court, he received a discount for cooperating with US authorities.

Being the final witness for the Crown, Hurtado gave his testimony via video link in the Magistrate’s Court at John's Hole during the ongoing trial of Violet ‘Letty’ Hodge and Lucien Smith for alleged drug offences. There was an interpreter in the court to translate from Spanish to English and vice versa as Mr Hurtado spoke only Spanish.

Earlier, when being questioned by Principal Crown Counsel Tiffany R. Scatliffe, Hurtado said that in a 12 year span, “We shipped 350 to 800 kilogrammes [of cocaine] each trip through Tortola.”

Key witness testimony inconsistent

Knowles sought to establish whether there was indeed a link between Hurtado and his client, Mrs Hodge. In doing so he asked what Mrs Hodge’s role was in meetings between her husband Earl ‘Bob’ Hodge and Hurtado. Throughout the questioning, Hurtado insisted that the person he believed to be ‘Bob’ Hodge’s wife was there as an interpretor as he spoke no English and ‘Bob’ Hodge spoke no Spanish. He had described ‘Bob’ Hodge’s wife as being Puerto Rican, around age 35 in 1998 when he first met ‘Bob’ Hodge, and that she had blond hair.

But Knowles said there was nothing in Hurtado’s earlier affidavits that made mention of ‘Bob’ Hodge’s wife being an interpreter. “If she was there why didn’t you say so in your affidavit?” asked Mr Knowles. To this Hurtado insisted that there were witnesses – fellow drug dealers – who could corroborate his story.

“You’re telling lies Mr Hurtado,” said Mr Knowles. “Please talk to me with respect because I am talking to you with respect,” Hurtado fired back.

Mr Knowles continued to read paragraph after paragraph of the affidavits, both from the previous extradition hearing and for the current case in the Magistrate's Court, with no mention whatsoever of ‘Bob’ Hodge’s wife being made.

“Mrs Hodge has never met you, she has never spoken to you, she has never had blond hair…she is not Puerto Rican. She is from the United States Virgin Islands. However, Hurtado was unrelenting and said that people who are from Puerto Rico usually say that they are from the USVI as the two places are in close proximity to each other.

Further, he said, “I never talked with her on whether she was from Puerto Rico or not.”

Mr Knowles wrapped up his argument saying that Hurtado got the age, nationality and hair colour of his client wrong. “And you don’t even know her name,” said Mr Knowles.

However, Hurtado insisted, “I am 1,000 percent sure that it was [‘Bob’ Hodge’s] wife.”

With the Crown wrapping up its case, the defence is likely to commence calling witnesses from tomorrow April 15, 2015.

Another DEA agent testifies

Earlier in the day, another agent of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) testified in the ongoing drugs trial. This time a female officer of the DEA Corinne Martin testified that on December 8, 2010 the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force (RVIPF) transferred 278 kilos of cocaine to her and others of the DEA.

Martin testified that she and special agent David Parker of the DEA boarded a DEA aircraft at the Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport with the cocaine and flew to San Juan, Puerto Rico where the drugs were placed in temporary storage.

Martin further testified via video link that on March 8, 2011 she and another officer of the DEA loaded the cocaine on to a DEA aircraft in San Juan, Puerto Rico and flew to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

She testified that upon processing the cocaine it was discovered that there were eight bundles of the narcotics, seven of which weighed 30 kilogrammes each and one which weighed 28 kilogrammes.

It is alleged that the eight packages had been discovered during an operation on Norman Island in September 2010.

She said too that on August 11, 2011 she received word that the cocaine had been destroyed save for 10 kilos that was retained.

Asked by Crown Counsel Tiffany R. Scatliffe on whose authority the drugs were destroyed, Martin responded that she did not know under which authority but that it was standard procedure to do so.

See story published April 14, 2015:

Defense pokes holes in gun in refrigerator story

- questions why no statement was made about gun allegedly being found in refrigerator; questions persist as to which officer allegedly found firearm

As the trial of Violet ‘Letty’ Hodge and Lucien Smith continued yesterday April 13, 2015 following the Easter break, an agent from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) testified through video link that he found an assault rifle in a large refrigerator in the house belonging to Violet 'Letty' Hodge at Frenchman’s Cay, Tortola on August 24, 2011.

The trial, presided over by Magistrate Ayana Baptiste-DaBreo, saw an entire day during which witness statements were taken, some in person and others via video link.

A number of police officers from the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force testified to having taken photographs and collected other evidence in the case against Hodge and Smith, who are jointly charged for drug offences.

As was the case during the last occasion, the court sought to prevent the public and the media from seeing the video of the person testifying by placing the flatscreen television in a position backing the public gallery. However, the sound was still audible. 

Under questioning from Prosecutor O’Neil Simpson, the officer from the DEA Pedro E. Perez testified via video link that on August 24, 2011 he was part of an operation in Frenchman’s Cay, Tortola, where the house allegedly owned by Hodge was searched.

Simpson asked Perez whether he could recall the events of August 24, 2011 to which Perez responded in the affirmative. “We were assigned to give support to an operation [related to] the arrest of Earl ‘Bob’ Hodge. I was assigned to the group to search Bob Hodge’s house,” Perez said. He added that he carried out these functions together with Virgin Islands law enforcement personnel.

The DEA agent said that when he and others arrived at the house, they carried out what he called a safety sweep before entering to commence their search.

Assault rifle in refrigerator

However, it is when they got into the house and commenced the search proper that he allegedly discovered an assault rifle in a large refrigerator. “I opened a refrigerator in the kitchen, a [refrigerator] large enough to hold a person inside. I found an assault rifle in the refrigerator,” the DEA agent testified.

He said that he did not touch the weapon but informed another officer who was part of the operation. “Yes I informed an officer that a rifle was in the refrigerator,” responded Perez when asked what he did when he made the discovery. Asked how he knew it was an assault rifle, Perez said that as a DEA agent he is assigned rifles of similar calibre.

Under cross examination by Violet 'Letty' Hodge's defence attorney, Julian Knowles QC, Perez reiterated that he was the one who found the weapon in the house and not another officer as was suggested in the official log of the search. Knowles took a line of questioning asking how it was that Perez wanted to search the refrigerator and asked whether it was his experience from his job in the past that people came bursting out of refrigerators during house searches.

Knowles also wanted to know how come Perez did not prepare a statement following his discovery of the weapon in the fridge. Perez said that he was instructed to give support and not prepare any reports or statement. When pressed by Knowles as to why it was that he didn’t think it important enough to ask his superior whether he should file a report since he had made the discovery of the weapon, he said his instructions were clear.

The trial continues today April 14, 2015 with a further five witnesses likely to be called; four of them being via video link, according to the Prosecutors.