No bail for ‘Small Brent’

“We are before you as all defendants ... You cannot take into consideration matters that were dismissed,” Patrick Godson-Phillips said yesterday on behalf of Danglade as he renewed the application for bail he had made on Danglade’s first appearance before Quinlan on Monday.

Danglade, who was a hostile State witness in the failed conspiracy to murder case against Jamaat leader Yasin Abu Bakr, stood in the prisoner’s dock wearing a white Tee shirt and blue trousers. But Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Geoffrey Henderson, in court for the matter, maintained that the State was objecting to bail. Henderson noted two antecedents on Danglade’s criminal record, namely previous drug possession convictions in reiterating this position.

Henderson also disclosed that the State was still awaiting exhibits at the Forensic Sciences Centre in order to be ready to proceed with the matter.

Ultimately, Quinlan resisted Danglade’s bail application, but granted the man charged jointly with Danglade, Alexander Ellis, $275,000 bail to be approved by the clerk of the peace. She reminded Danglade that he still had a right to apply to a judge in chambers for bail.

The magistrate also set May 21 as the trial date for the inquiry against both men, whilst adjourning the matter to April 5 for mention.

Shortly before the matter was adjourned, Godson-Phillips told the court that Danglade was having difficulty in being transported in the packed prisoners’ van spoke with his lawyer who then disclosed that the defendant suffered from asthma and needed more room to breathe when in transit.

Quinlan advised that the issue was one for the Commissioner of Prisons, but Henderson rose to his feet and made an arrangement with Godson-Phillips.

Danglade, also called ‘Small Brent’, 24, of Cascade, is charged alongside Ellis, 28, of Don Miguel Road San Juan, with shooting at four police officers on March 22. Both are also charged with possession of arms and ammunition, without the possession of a licence.