No Elder but ‘Red Fete’ inquiry resumes

AFTER four consecutive adjournments, the “Red Fete” murder inquiry resumed yesterday in the absence of lead defence attorney Pamela Elder SC. Elder’s junior, attorney Richard Mason, had earlier made an application to Chief Magis-trate Sherman McNicolls for an adjournment. Elder, he said, had arrived at the St Vincent Street courthouse at 9 am and had waited on the magistrate for as long as she could before she was forced to leave to attend to a matter at the High Court. McNicolls had arrived shortly after 9 am. The magistrate turned down the young attorney’s application and proceeded to hear the evidence-in-chief of one of the witnesses scheduled to give evidence.

The witness, Lawrence Alvin Goddard of Dyette Street in Cunupia, was led in evidence by State prosecutor Tricia Hudlin. Cross-examination by the de-fence was reserved. The inquiry had been ad-journed on March 25 and April 1 because Elder had been absent and on April 7 because she had been ill. It was again adjourned on April 15 because the accused, PC Dave Burnett, had contracted chicken pox. Burnett, 30, of St Barbs Road in Belmont, was charged with the January 25 murder of 18-year-old Kevin Cato and wounding another man, Ryan Solomon, with the intent to do grievous bodily harm.

Cato, 18, of Chin Chin Road, Cunupia was shot dead, and Solomon, 23, of Longdenville, Chaguanas, was severely wounded at the Pier 1 fete. The indictable charges were laid by Supt Errol Denoon of the Port-of-Spain CID. Hearing resumes on April 28. In a report published on April 16, the Newsday had, in error, reported that the inquiry had been adjourned on March 25 because the magistrate was absent, when in fact it was defence attorney Pamela Elder, who was absent. The paper apologises for the error and any embarrassment caused.