Businessman’s cocaine case rescheduled for December 13

WESTERN BUREAU:

THE CASE against Oral Johnson, the businessman who was arrested in April this year after he was reportedly held with over 19 pounds of cocaine in Coral Gardens, St James, has been put off until December 13, due to an outstanding DNA report.

Johnson, a 45-year-old restaurant and bar operator of a Westmoreland address, got the new date and had his bail extended when he appeared before the St James Parish Court on Tuesday.

When the case was briefly mentioned before presiding Parish Judge Sasha Ashley, the court was told that a full laboratory examination of the DNA samples was not yet complete.

It was also revealed that disclosure of the prosecution’s documents to Johnson’s attorney, Henry McCurdy, was done just moments before the start of court on Tuesday morning.

“Today is November 1, and we are very close to Christmas,” McCurdy pointed out to the judge as he lamented the case’s delay since his client’s arrest and charge on April 28.

“That is my time of the year,” Ashley quipped in response. “Let us set December 13 as the next date, and we can assess where we are at that time.

“This will be for mention, as the only thing outstanding is the DNA that the attorney insists on having,” she added, addressing the prosecution.

The start of Johnson’s trial was postponed on October 6 after his attorney told the court that he was yet to be given a copy of the DNA report by the prosecution. The test is to ascertain whether Johnson’s DNA matched samples which had reportedly been found on the confiscated cocaine.

The allegations against Johnson are that on April 28, a police team saw the defendant sitting in a parked vehicle in the Coral Gardens community for approximately 20 minutes. When approached by the police, Johnson gave conflicting explanations as to why he was in the area, following which his vehicle was searched and nine packages with the cocaine reportedly found.

Johnson’s arrest took place at the same time that a police operation was under way in Coral Gardens, during which the authorities reportedly seized US$3.8 million and CDN$30,000 – valued at a combined J$60 million – at a house in the community.

A woman was also arrested in Westmoreland in connection with both seizures, and the police subsequently named Presley ‘Pressa’ Bingham, of Torado Drive in St James, as a person of interest in connection with those investigations.

Following the Coral Gardens operation, Assistant Commissioner of Police Clifford Chambers indicated that the investigations would become international and extend to other jurisdictions beyond Jamaica’s borders. However, he did not state at that time which other jurisdictions might become involved in the probe.

Chambers also revealed that the United States had made an extradition request in 2005 for the owner of the house where the money was found.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com