Violet 'Letty' Hodge's name is cleared in drug case by main witness
The man who moved from being a “flat footer” selling drinks in the streets of St Thomas, USVI to being a multi-millionaire who owned aircrafts and airstrips and having major influence in a Venezuelan military as a result of him becoming involved in cocaine trafficking, emphatically cleared the name of Mrs Hodge when he stated to the court that he never had any dealings with her as it related to his drug operations.
Springette is today in a correctional facility in Herlong California, USA where he has another 10 years of incarceration. Due to his agreeing to cooperate with US authorities, he had a time of 410 months reduced to 220 months. He is currently 55 years old and is likely to be out of prison at the age of 66.
Despite Springette's long detailed history of how he became to know Mrs Hodge who he described at one stage as “an attractive woman facially”, Attorney Mr Julian Knowles, QC questioned whether he really knew the person he claims to know as ‘Letty’ Hodge.
Who is Letisha?
Given the opportunity to cross examine the witness, Knowles had put to the witness that Mrs Hodge had no recollection of ever knowing him (Springette) and he replied, “I am sorry to hear that…. I know her personally.”
Mr Knowles’ grounds on defending his client was partly due to an affidavit that Mr Springette had signed. In that document he named the woman he now claims to be ‘Letty’ as Letisha and at no stage in the document did he mention the name ‘Letty’.
As the witness insisted on Letisha being the same person as Letty, he said Letisha is Spanish for Letty. He even went as far as to question Mr Knowles’ knowledge of the Spanish language. “I am 100% sure that I know her, unequivocally.”
Lucien Smith’s best friend
For Mr Lucien Smith, who is being jointly charged and tried with Mrs Hodge, it was a long day as well but nothing came from any witness about his involvement in any drugs operation.
The one person who called the name of Mr Smith was a man who told the court that Mr Smith is his best friend. “That’s my best friend, we sit and chat in the yard and eat fish.”
He told the court that his relationship with Mr Smith was more than two decades old as he had always been his main mechanic and source of parts and engines for his boats. He referred to Mr Smith as being one of few mechanics who dealt with boats that charged a reasonable price for his services back in the days.
His testimony was more directed by the prosecution’s line of questioning to his ownership of boats and him allegedly seeing one boat with the name ‘Good to go’ at Mr Smith’s place of business. “It had some rental name on it I don’t know who owns it.”
Testimonies via video link
Meanwhile, the prosecution led by Principal Crown Counsel Ms Tiffany R. Scatliffe attempted to debar members of the public present in the courtroom from seeing who were the witnesses testifying via video link.
The television set was placed backing the public but in clear view of those at the bar, court workers, and the magistrate.
It may have appeared that an attempt was also made to have the witnesses not see the defendants but there was one point where video link witness Mr James 'Jimmy Juice' Springette made it known that he was clearly seeing the person who he knows to be Mrs ‘Letty’Hodge.
Prosecution a mocking stock?
What many persons of the public, especially those who were not in the court room yesterday, found very silly of the prosecutors was their apparent effort to hide the identity of the video link witnesses who they claimed to have fear for their lives. A quick internet search brings up photos of the individuals.
This is especially so in the case of Mr Springette, who in the world of social media and the federal world, is no stranger to being public. His photos are all over google sites and his name, business, drug operations, his testimonies against others who are or were in the business of drugs/cocaine from St Thomas to the VI to St Maarten, to Colombia, to Venezeula are all very public information and those are just a few.
As it related to two others, fishermen, who testified via video link, Mr Christopher D. Berry and his father Mr David F. Berry, there was no indication that they had any fears as at the introductory stages of his testimony Mr David F. Berry offered to make known the address of where he lives but was guided against that by the prosecution. The two testified of salvaging a boat that they found up-side down in USVI waters back in 2010. They gave no evidence of seeing or finding anything other than a broken off piece of the boat close by and didn’t see coast guards take anything suspicious off the salvaged boat.
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17 Responses to “Violet 'Letty' Hodge's name is cleared in drug case by main witness”
The witness has stated that sh was PRESENT and acted as interpreter for her partner,Bob. Well my dear, One and One equal two and the two are One.