Sanitation driver in East PoS protests pleads not guilty

THE 28-year-old Petit Valley contract sanitation worker assigned to the Port of Spain City Corporation, who claimed he was threatened at gunpoint to dump garbage on the streets of east Port of Spain during protests earlier this week, was granted bail in the sum of $40,000 by a Justice of the Peace on Thursday.

Lance Cupidore of Cameron Road, appeared in the Port of Spain Second Court yesterday on two charges of wilfully obstructing the free passage of a road and littering.

He pleaded not-guilty. He will reappear on March 21. The charge was laid by Cpl Sheldon Joseph of the PoS City Police under the guidance of Snr Supt Ajith Persad, head of the Port of Spain CID.

If convicted, the obstructing charge carries a fine of $200 and up to a month in prison, while the maximum penalty for littering is a fine of $4,000 or up to six months in prison. The dumping of garbage occurred at various locations along Observatory Street on Monday morning, as residents protested the police killing of Akel “Christmas” James. James was killed by police during a raid of his home earlier that morning.

Video clips of the truck offloading its cargo at the corner of Observatory and Quarry Streets were posted on social media. The heap of garbage was then set on fire by residents before it was eventually cleared by the members of the Defence Force and police.