Summons issued for alleged ‘court skipping’ defendant
Prince, 37, of Josiah’s Bay, pleaded not guilty to the charge of being armed with an offensive weapon in April 2012.
His attorney, Marie Lou Creque, lamented his absence at court on April 26, 2013 and said she couldn’t account for the delay in his appearance. She further asked that the court ‘stay its hand’ with respect to any warrant for the defendant’s arrest.
Prince reportedly had to await a MRI scan following an injury he received but no new reports have reached the court on whether this has since been successful. The defendant’s last appearance at court was on November 30, 2012.
Creque told the court that she would check with the doctor personally regarding the MRI and make a formal report to the court at the next hearing.
Crown Counsel Leslie Ann Faulkner, who previously had conduct of the matter, had expressed concerns on behalf of the prosecution at the defendant’s prior absence on past occasions.
When Senior Magistrate Tamia Richards asked Senior Crown Counsel Valston Graham what his intentions were regarding the matter, he related that he was not satisfied at all at the defendant’s continued absence.
“I will ask that we set a trial date and ask the Court to use its authority to bring [Prince] here,” Graham said.
The prosecutor stated that he was not trying to trivialise Prince’s injuries, whatever they might be, “but if his ailment is that serious, he ought to have by now sought to get it rectified.”
Creque then stated that the issue of having the ailment rectified was more a matter of securing an appointment with the doctor.
Graham stated that he has received at least two MRI scans in the interim and added, “I’m not being hard on him, but Mr Prince has a history of not appearing [at court].”
Creque denied this and said it was not true that her client doesn’t appear, and noted that he sometimes gets the dates mixed up.
Magistrate Richards said a summons would be issued for the defendant.
The matter continues on May 17, 2013.
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11 Responses to “Summons issued for alleged ‘court skipping’ defendant”
Hasn't he got other outstanding charges before the court? He's allegedly been caught with a gun, uttered death threats to persons, tried to escape custody and then at a later date he allegedly got caught with the taser threatening another person! This is all a joke to him and thinks the system can be beaten. Please haul his butt into Court and make him stand trial for the alleged offences he's done.