Haitian remanded for illegal entry

Christopher Thomas, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:A Haitian who was arrested in January for illegally entering Jamaica was remanded in custody when he appeared in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrates Court on Monday until his national status is verified.

John Peter, who was living in Anchovy in St James at the time of his arrest, is also charged for aiding and abetting the illegal entry of fellow Haitian Cherlie Donne, who has since been sent back to her homeland.

The allegations are that on January 24, a police team conducted an operation in Anchovy during which both Peter and Donne were taken into custody.

When questioned, Peter reportedly said that he had been granted refugee status. However, checks revealed that he had been repatriated to Haiti in 2004, and following this discovery, he was arrested and charged.

On Monday, Peters lawyer, Chuma Parris, told the court that the defendant had sought to regularise his status in Jamaica.

Mr Peter has been residing here since age nine. Up until his arrest, he had been gainfully employed and had done certain things to legitimise his status, Parris told Resident Magistrate Carolyn Tie.

He had lost some of his documentation, and that is the difficulty we are facing, Parris continued.

I will give you time to make these checks, but I am not minded to offer him bail, said RM Tie before remanding Peter in custody until June 26.