Ray John and ex-partner to appear in court on Monday
By Zya Williams
Embattled Superintendent of Police Ray John and his former partner Shakema Charles will be sitting through another committal hearing on Monday in relation to the passport scam they were allegedly involved in.
The two were freed from all of the criminal charges against them last month when Justice Tunde Backre dismissed the charges having held that the law does not allow for conspiracy to be tried by judge alone.
But their victory was short-lived as they were recharged moments ago and brought to the St. John’s Magistrates’ Court.
John and Charles are now jointly accused of conspiring with Vincentian resident Lonzel Jones to create fake passport bio pages using unauthorized Multi-Layered Infilling Sheets.
John, with Charles’ assistance, allegedly sent the necessary documents to Jones through a friend, Lisborn Michael, from the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda.
However, police intercepted Jones and John’s nephew, Geraldo James, during a transaction involving the final documents.
The defendants, represented by Defense attorneys Hugh Marshall and Michael Archibald, maintained that they were innocent and, therefore, made two attempts to have the case dismissed.
Their no-case submission failed because the judge believed that they had to answer to the charges but the second application was a success.
Despite this, the prosecution refiled the charges against them and they therefore have to go through the entire legal process all over again.
This story was first published by Antigua News on April 13, 2024: antigua.news/2024/04/13/ray-john-and-ex-partner-to-appear-in-court-on-monday. © 2024 Antigua News. Republication without permission is not allowed.
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