Police Sergeant, spouse freed of ganja charges

A police Sergeant and her civilian spouse have been freed of drug-related charges four years after they were arrested by cops.

Sergeant Tamica Taylor and her fiancé, Royan Harris, walked free from the St Thomas Parish Court on Monday after a judge upheld legal arguments by their attorney Marcus Goffe that there was no case for them to answer.

Goffe said the presiding judge, in dismissing the charges, described the evidence as tenuous.

Harris was arrested in February 2021 and charged with possession of, dealing in, and cultivating ganja following a search of his house and a small farm.

His police girlfriend was arrested one year later and charged with possession of and dealing in ganja.

The charges were laid following a legal opinion by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Jamaica’s prosecutorial authority.

The police sergeant was suspended without pay after she was charged, Goffe told The Gleaner.

The attorney said his clients are happy with the outcome “because this is a case that should not have been brought in the first place”.

“I am pleased that her name has been cleared and vindicated that she can now, if she wants to, go back to her rightful role of securing the nation,” said Goffe.

Taylor and Harris were previously represented by late attorney Valerie Neita-Robertson.

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