Kervin McMillan and Edrick Chinnery. Photo: VINO

Virgin Islands national Edrick Chinnery and St Vincent and the Grenadines national Kervin McMillan appeared before Magistrate DaBreo in the John’s Hole Magistrates’ Court charged with the indictable offence. They were represented by attorneys at law Valerie Stephens-Gordon and Leroy Jones.

In addition to the details of the charge, the court heard accusations of inhumane treatment meted out to the two men who spent some four days in the lockups.

According to the details of the complaint, the men are alleged to have perjured themselves when they made in a sworn affidavit statements knowing those statements to be false. The statements were in support of a bail application for Gostain Holder, known as Splurt, who was charged with aggravated burglary. Holder’s matter was being heard in the Magistrate’s court where bail was denied but after attorney Stephens-Gordon approached the High Court on September 7, 2015, bail was granted to Holder.

He then allegedly breached the conditions of his bail by attacking one of the complainants in the case, leading to the matter being brought up again in the High Court. The men are said to have made the perjured statements in affidavits to secure Holder’s release.

According to Prosecutor Garcia K. Kelly, McMillan said, “I only talk what I see. I never tell no lie.” Kelly quoted Chinnery as saying, “I have no reason to lie. I tell what I see.”

The two men allegedly testified in the affidavits that they saw the Virtual Complainant interfering with Holder.

Jones told the court that when he went down to see the men in the police station, he was given information to the effect that the men had been charged with something other than what they had appeared before the court today.

He then proceeded to read from what he referred to as a charge sheet that he said came from the police. However, Magistrate DaBreo said that she is not concerned with what is on any charge sheet but what is on the complaint before the court. Jones also alleged that his client was made to sleep on the floor of the jail cell.

In addition to the bail, the men were made to surrender their travel documents. They were also ordered to refrain from any form of contact with the Virtual Complainant.

“Based on what the Crown has presented I don’t believe that remanding [these men] will solve anything,” said Magistrate DaBreo before handing down her ruling on their application for bail and outlining the other stipulations of the bail. They are to return to court on February 5, 2016.

The court heard that McMillan is 38 years of age. He is said to have an 18 year old daughter and he is fully employed at a bar in Jost van Dyke as a carpenter and handyman.

Chinnery is a VIslander from Jost van Dyke who is 52 years of age and has five children. He is said to be a taxi driver.