Crown gives up on appeal over old drugs case

(CNS): Efforts by the crown to appeal against a Summary Court decision to quash drugs charges in a case where prosecutors ran out of time appear to have been abandoned. The director of public prosecutions (DPP) had begun an appeal when charges against Richard Parson for possession and consumption of cocaine were dismissed back in August 2010. However, the crown appears to have given up on the case, which now joins a list of cases where charges were dismissed because of a failure by the police to file charges within six months as required by law.  According to an FOI request filed by a local attorney some two years ago, at least 45 cases had gone the same way because of delays in the process.

Enquiries have determined that the Parsons case was last set to be mentioned more than a year ago but it has not returned to the courts. Although members of the public have to post a CI$500 bond to pursue an appeal, this is not the case for the crown so there will be no sanction for the DPP’s decision to abandon this course of action.