‘Only a madman would go back in a room for cocaine’
Airport worker’s lawyer gives closing argument in 2023 cocaine trial
Published:Wednesday | April 3, 2024 | 12:09 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Following Tuesday’s closing arguments in the trial of Jermaine Scott, the airport ramp worker who reportedly had 2.5 kilograms of cocaine hidden in his work raincoat, the St James Parish Court has set April 12 as the date when he will be found innocent or guilty.
Scott, 34, had his bail extended following his latest court appearance on Tuesday after both his attorney, Henry McCurdy, and the prosecution delivered their closing arguments before presiding judge Sasha-Marie Smith-Ashley.
Scott has been on trial on the charges of possession of, dealing in, and attempting to export cocaine following his arrest at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St James, in January 2023.
During closing arguments on Tuesday, McCurdy declared that the prosecution’s assertions that the raincoat in which the cocaine was allegedly found belonged to Scott, and that he had gone to retrieve it from a bathroom at the time of his arrest, were senseless and without foundation.
“Only a madman would have a contraband in a room and turn back for it to pass by the customs officer. The real issue is, is Mr Scott a madman? Any person who turned back, picked up a raincoat with cocaine, and tried to pass a customs officer would have to be a madman, but my client said from the witness box, ‘I am not a madman’,” said McCurdy, referencing testimony Scott had previously given during his evidence-in-chief.
NO PROOF
“We are not saying cocaine was not found, but was the cocaine in the possession, control, and knowledge of Mr Scott? We are saying no,” McCurdy added. “Mr Scott was not in possession of that raincoat with its contents. The Crown has failed to prove that Mr Scott was in possession of that raincoat; they have failed miserably.”
Meanwhile, the prosecution put forward in its closing arguments that the testimony of its three prosecution witnesses was legitimate and truthful, and that Scott’s position at the Sangster International Airport would have given him the opportunity to smuggle the cocaine on to the airline ramps.
Smith-Ashley subsequently deferred her judgment in the trial until April 12 and extended Scott’s bail to that date, as she was not in a position to review the evidence during Tuesday’s court proceedings.
Scott, who first appeared in the St James Parish Court on February 3, 2023, was arrested at the Sangster International Airport by investigators assigned to the Narcotics Division after the cocaine was allegedly found in his possession during a law enforcement operation by the Narcotics and the Customs Contraband Enforcement Team. The cocaine reportedly had a street value of approximately US$125,000 (J$19.2 million).
According to the allegations, Scott was seen trying to retrieve a raincoat with the contraband from a bathroom at the airport, at the time of his arrest on January 29, 2023.