Chaguanas man freed of robbery

A ROBBERY charge against a Chaguanas man was yesterday dismissed when the pillar of the State’s case was shattered by the defence. Justice Mark Mohammed, sitting in the Port-of-Spain Second Criminal Court, ordered the jury to return a not guilty verdict in favour of Joel Shah, 21, of Goodwill Road, Chaguanas, when the State could not negate allegations by defence attorney Ulric Skerritt that the oral statement and confession allegedly given by Shah were not voluntary. The statement and confession were the crux of the prosecution’s case. Shah, who was charged with robbing Duke’s Jewelry in Chaguanas of $27,465 worth of jewelry on August 22 2001, was arrested on August 29 and had allegedly given an oral statement and a confession on August 30.

However, Skerritt argued, between the time of arrest and the time when the statement and confession were given, which amounted to almost 23 hours, Shah had not been fed nor had he been allowed to rest. The State, represented by attorney Nadia James, was forced to discontinue prosecution because it could not prove that the allegations were not true and, by extension, could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Shah had given the statement of his own free will. Mohammed commended the State attorney for not wasting judicial time by not pressing for a conviction, and discharged the accused.