Lawyer outraged over delay in fete murder trial

THE DPP’s delay in assigning a State attorney to prosecute in the inquiry into the death of 18-year-old Kevin Cato came under severe criticism by defence attorney Pamela Elder SC and Chief Magistrate Sherman McNicolls at the Port-of-Spain Eighth Magistrate’s Court yesterday. Cato, of Chin Chin Road, Cunupia, was fatally shot at the “Outrageous in Red” fete at Pier 1 on January 25 and another man, Ryan Solomon, of Longdenville, Chaguanas, was severely wounded. PC Dave Burnett, 30, of St Barbs Road, Belmont, was charged with Cato’s murder and wounding Solomon with intent to do grievous bodily harm. The indictable charges were laid by Supt Errol Denoon of the Port-of-Spain CID and Burnett made his second appearance in court yesterday. 

When asked about the status of Burnett’s file, police prosecutor acting Insp Kenneth Cordner informed McNicolls that the file was nearing completion and should be ready at the next hearing, when a date could be set for trial.  Elder, however, felt that this explanation was “unacceptable.” “The accused is a police officer,” she said, “he can’t be prosecuted by a police prosecutor. The DPP gave instructions to charge and should have assigned an attorney to the case. There are approximately four attorneys from the DPP’s office in court today and not one has been assigned to this case,” she continued.

“What has the accused been brought to court for, to cast his eyes upon your worship?” she asked sarcastically. “What has been done by the State since the accused last appeared in court?”  Burnett had last appeared before McNicolls on January 28. McNicolls was in full agreement. “The time has come that when someone is charged with murder, a State attorney should be assigned immediately, file or no file, in order to speed up the process.” Deputy DPP Carla Brown-Antoine, who was in court to prosecute in another matter, agreed that the procedure for preparation and transmission of files was outdated and “not viable in the 21st century.” However, she argued that assigning an attorney without the completion of a file was useless.