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But they never went to court. So, tonight, there are renewed suspicions that Castro's sons were given preferential treatment by police. This evening, their attorney, Herbert Panton, came out publicly saying that these leaked court books are pure political mischief being made against them. He granted us an interview insisting once again, that Jafari and Wasani Castro were never criminally charged:

Herbert Panton, Attorney for the Castro sons
"I find the need to clarify exactly what happened, particularly in light of a document I saw been brandished on PlusTV by Mr. Wade this morning. That what he purports to be a charge sheet. It is not a charge sheet. It is in fact a court book. It is the document that comes after charges are laid against an accused."

"The first part of the story says that they were charged. That would be Precinct 3 I believe and then were transported to Precinct 2. If that were the case 9 o' clock in the morning, they would have been transported to the Magistrate's Court to be arraigned. That did not happened. The fact that they were there after 9 mean that they were not charged."

"What transpired thereafter is that efforts were made to see if the matter could be dealt with and terminated there. After those efforts were concluded Chester Williams said to us that he is not the arresting officer and the arresting officer has indicated that he will proceed to charge the gentlemen. At which time I ask that medico legal forms be issued to them because they were properly battered and bruised. They obviously had been beaten and they were beaten while in custody. That was plain to be seen and so I ask that medico legal forms be issued to them and they be taken to the hospital because a counter claim would ensue. I left the station and went home. I was in the middle of my lunch when I got a call to return to the station and when I return there the officer indicated that he had had a change of heart and that he no longer wish to proceed and he requested that the same be done on the part of the Castro brothers, that they would not level any complaint against any of the officers."

"So it wasn't any senior officer doing anything. It was a fundamental quid pro quo. I will not press charges against you and you will not press charges against me."

As viewers may remember, prior to getting into private practice as an attorney, Panton was a Magistrate who served in Belize City and Cayo. So, he has intimate knowledge about how criminal procedure works for accused persons, especially the purpose of court books. He pointed out the inconsistencies in these documents for Jafari Castro, and we challenged him on the total amount of leaked evidence which paints the picture that they were criminally charged. Here's that back and forth:

Daniel Ortiz, 7News
"So what do you make of these court books, while your explanation of how it went down is perfectly plausable and acceptable, there are these charges written out on a official document."

Herbert Panton, Attorney for the Castro sons
"There is a simple way to explain it. One wayward bad mind ridiculous police officer. That is all that I can say, because as I told you the only way there could be charge sheets is if the police informed the gentlemen about their rights, explain what they are being arrested for and arrest and charge them. There after they are given what is called the information and complaint. Local parlance speak of it as the charge sheet."

"When they are given that, it is then that the court book is prepared, because the court book is prepared in duplicate; one copy goes to the prosecutor and one goes to the magistrate when they go before the magistrate to be arraigned."

"If you look at that court book, in the corner it is supposed to bear a URL which speaks of the origin, what Precinct it originated from. There is no such designation on that court book. Some idle bad mind police sat down and created that thing and leaked it to the media."

"None of the Castro brothers were charge with anything up until 12-1 in the afternoon when they were release. They were never charged."

Daniel Ortiz, 7News
"But sir, taken in isolation that's perfectly understandable and acceptable, but there the CIMS report which the police use to record statements. They were served with an acknowledge form that they sign and received a copy."

Herbert Panton, Attorney for the Castro sons
"It is not even about the acknowledgement form. It is what is on the whatever CIMS network, I saw no less that Chester Williams disavowed the authenticity of that. I can tell you unless the police was lying to me. When I entered the station the first question I ask, are these gentlemen charged and the response was no. When I left that station no charges had been read to them. So anything else other than that is a figment of somebody's imagination."

Daniel Ortiz, 7News
"You are saying somebody cooked up that whole court book and leaked it?"

Herbert Panton, Attorney for the Castro sons
"Precisely, fundamentally. I have no problem in saying that."

Daniel Ortiz, 7News
"Sir it is, while that's an interpretation what could take, it also look as though the procedure was shut down."

Herbert Panton, Attorney for the Castro sons
"I just explained to you how the procedure went."

Daniel Ortiz, 7News
"So what do you suspect the intention was?"

Herbert Panton, Attorney for the Castro sons
"Bad mind. Unfortunately everything goes back to their father. This is one big political football."

Panton insists that the police and the Castro brothers resolved the dispute with the understanding that the Castros wouldn't be charged, and they wouldn't make a complaint of police brutality against them.

Customs, as we noted, also settled the case for the 89 cases of contraband beer for an undisclosed amount. The value of the beers was a little over six thousand dollars and fines are usually three times that.