Two SRPs freed of corruption charge

TWO former SRPs charged with two counts of corruption were yesterday acquitted of one of those charges by Chief Magistrate Sherman McNicolls.

McNicolls, however, informed them that had it not been for the insistence of defence attorney Rangee Dolsingh that the two cases could not have been heard together, they “would have gone home free.” Donald Snaggs, of Annette Street, Point Pleasant Park, Cunupia, and Roland  Nicholson, of Picton Road, Laventille, were jointly charged with corruptly receiving $320 from Wayne Cedeno and his wife, Lima Andrews, as an inducement to forebear criminal charges. They were also charged with soliciting an undisclosed sum of money from Cedeno and Andrews. The couple were not married at the time.

Nicholson and Snaggs, who were then attached to the Police Traffic Branch, were accused of committing the offence in Westmoorings. They were charged by Cpl Rocky Mohammed of the Anti-Corruption Investigation Bureau. After listening to the submissions presented by Dolsingh and State attorney Candia James, McNicolls discharged the two accused of the first charge. Regarding the second charge, he told Dolsingh, “You are the cause of your clients being in this predicament because you insisted the two matters could not have been dealt with together. According to McNicolls, the court had tried to show the defence attorney that the offences had occurred at the same time and the same evidence could have been used but Dolsingh had disagreed.

Dolsingh had earlier presented a lengthy submission that the prosecution had not complied with the Law of Consent under Section 11 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. After citing several case studies, Dolsingh concluded that “the case presented by the prosecution is a nullity because it was imperative that the evidence of consent ought to have gone into evidence.” Since no document containing the DPP’s signature had been tendered into evidence and made an exhibit, Dolsingh said, the case could not go further than the Magistrates’ Court and would be thrown out by a judge if it reached the High Court. In addition, he said, the evidence presented by the State had been “riddled with discrepancies and vagueness.” He insisted that the entire case was an attempt to embarrass Commissioner of Police Everald Snaggs, who is a relative of Donald Snaggs. The pending matter was adjourned to April 26 and transferred to the Port-of-Spain First Magistrates’ Court.