7 News Belize

The Sage Of "Horse" And Pam At Court
posted (December 28, 2012)
Yesterday, we told you about the drama which unfolded at the Belize City Magistrate's Court involving the arraignment of Jermaine "Horse" Garnett and his wife, Pamela Garnett.

It happened late in the evening, and because of that there were some elements of the story which were understated in our yesterday's coverage. So, Daniel Ortiz revisits the story tonight in a recap:

Daniel Ortiz reporting
There are now 3 people, 2 of whom are believed to be affiliated with the Southside Gangsters, who are on remand for the murder.

They are 23 year-old Cassian Bennett, his step-father, 30 year-old Jermaine "Horse Garnett, and 35 year-old Kenneth Barrow. But yesterday at the courthouse, their families and supporters, who believe them to be innocent, escalated the environment of what should have been a routine arraignment.

The proceedings, however, were far from ordinary because the DPP herself appeared on behalf of the prosecution, a very rare occurrence to make sure that the court appreciated the gravity of what was at stake.

She was particularly interested in the arraignment of 42 year-old Pamela Garnett, the wife of Jermaine Garnett, and her son, 24 year-old Mark Vernon, who according to police, were involved in witness tampering.

According to police, they approached a major material witness and tried to get her to withdraw evidence, first through bribery, and then by threats.

And if that's not tangled enough for you, according to police, Pamela Garnett was detained pending charges, but she was let out of her cell by Special Constable Lisa Cayetano.

According to reports, she was quickly detained, and implicated Cayetano in her escape. As a result, police arrested and charged her with aiding in the escape of a detainee.

But the main aspect of these incidents is the allegations of witness tampering. It's a known fact that it happens, and a result, the Police Department are trying to respond appropriately.

They've taken the first few steps:

ACP Elodio Aragon - OC, Eastern Division
"What is happening, we have, through the support of the US Embassy, we have received assistance in that of a small building where a small unit will be formed-it's already formed-but I think come the first week of January of next year, we will see that unit come into full swing, we will be operational. And it is basically unit that is a Witness Support Unit and that is basically there to assist and deal with witnesses that are cooperating with the police to look after their basic safety when it comes to assistance. It's not a full witness protection program, because that is something that we at this point in time, the department cannot sustain economically. But nevertheless a witness support unit will assist in ensuring for our witnesses to know the time and the dates they need to come to court and even assistance by the police to pick them up to bring them to court etcetera. And this will be mostly for the major crimes that are of major concern to us as a department."

And while it is absolutely no assurance or compensation to families of slain victims who were targeted for being witnesses, police say that the court is legally bound to follow through:

Supt Alden Dawson - OC, CIB Belize City
"Taking out a witness will not help the accused in anyway because the court now has a legal or binding duty to accept the statement even if the witness is deceased and it carries the same weight, so taking out a witness will not help you in any way."

It is important to note that on April 24, 2012, 22 year-old Emmerson Eaghan was convicted of the murder of Dennis Nembhard, based solely on the sworn statement of Shelmadine "Shelly" Sanchez who was killed two years earlier, in an attempt to silence her.

As you saw in the footage, Pamela Garnett walked out of the police mobile in very good health when she was placed in the holding cell. But after the arraignment, she fainted when she was being placed into the police mobile, reportedly from heart problems.

As a result, police had to get an ambulance which transported her to the KHMH. As soon as she is declared fit, she will be remanded to the Belize Central Prison until January 11, 2013.

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