Retrial for prison officer for marijuana possession

Two appellate court judges, Justices Alice Yorke-Soo Hon and Mark Mohammed, quashed the conviction against Varidan Lackraj and the four year sentence he received in 2014.

Lackraj, in his appeal argued by attorneys Israel Khan, SC, and Ula Nathai Lutchman, maintained that the conviction against him could not be supported by the evidence.

His attorneys also argued that the good character evidence was misapplied by the magistrate who determined the case.

The prison officer was accused of possessing a brown paper bag containing marijuana near the prison at Frederick Street, Port of Spain. He was on his way to report for duty at 6 am.

In delivering the judgment, Mohammed said Lackraj had no previous convictions and it was a material error not to properly consider his good character as it related to the likelihood of him committing the crime with which he was charged.

But Mohammed said the offence was a prevalent one and the fact that Lackraj was a prison officer was a compelling factor in ordering a retrial as public interest was involved. It was alleged that PC Neptune was in receipt of certain information while on enquiries on December, 31, 2010 around 4:55 a.m. near the State Prison on Frederick Street.

It is alleged that Neptune and another officer approached Lackraj at the entrance gate and saw him remove from under his jersey a small brown paper bag with marijuana and drop it on the floor.

Lackraj denied the allegations.

He said he had a bag containing his lunch when the officers “frisked” him.

He also testified that one of the officers then walked ten feet away and picked up a brown parcel on the pavement, in which he alleged the marijuana was found. He said he told the officer he did not know anything about that parcel with marijuana.