Attorney fumes as men remain in custody despite court order

The Hanover police have been accused of ignoring a court order to file criminal charges or release two men who have been in custody for nearly a week.

The order gave the police until 5 p.m. on Monday to either charge the men or release them from custody, according to their attorney Donovan Collins.

It was made in the Hanover Parish Court yesterday after a successful habeas corpus application, Collins told The Gleaner.

But the attorney says his checks early Tuesday revealed that the men are still in custody.

Deputy Superintendent Sharon Beeput, who heads the Hanover Police, confirmed around 8 p.m. last evening that the men were in custody.

Beeput explained that she was trying to confirm the existence of the court order.

Calls to her cell phone on Tuesday went unanswered.

But according to Collins, the crime officer for the parish was in court yesterday when the order was made.  

“This is a breach of a court order which cannot be allowed to continue in Jamaica,” he told The Gleaner.

Collins said the men were arrested five days ago, but still have not been interviewed by investigators or placed on an identification parade.

“The Hanover police clearly are operating in a manner as if they are above the law,” the attorney fumed.

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