Judge frees man of murder

A 26-year-old man who was charged with a murder he was accused of committing a decade ago was yesterday freed by a High Court judge, who directed jurors to return a not-guilty verdict in his favour.

Hansley Gomez was before Justice Norton Jack in the Port of Spain Fifth Criminal Court, charged with the June 9, 2009, murder of Michael Lal, 41, of Ravine Road, Petit Valley.

Jack’s direction to the jury to return the formal not-guilty verdict came after he ruled on the admissibility of the statements the prosecution intended to use at Gomez’s trial and lead prosecutor Gisele Heller-Ferguson indicated that the State was unable to offer any evidence against the accused.

Gomez’s attorneys Mario Merritt and Alexia Romero, at a special hearing before the prosecution opened its case, submitted that the statements could not be relied on by the prosecution, as they could not have been voluntarily made.

Merritt argued that one of the statements her client allegedly gave to police on August 13, 2009, was in breach of the judges’ rules and not given voluntarily, while his alleged utterance were also not given voluntarily as he was a minor at the time, and Gomez could have been induced by the police who gave him hope that he would be released if he talked.

He also advanced that at the time of giving the alleged statement, Gomez was on medication, including Benadryl, which made him drowsy and dizzy, and he believed if he did what he was told to do by the police, he would be free to leave.

The attorney, in his arguments, also pointed out that being locked up in a cell for three days made him frustrated, claustrophobic and scared and this played a major part in him wanting to “come out” of the situation he was in, as well as the threats made to him by the police when he was arrested.

In response, the prosecution maintained the statement was given voluntarily after Gomez was cautioned and told of his rights, fed and given medication and treated fairly by police.

In his ruling, Jack agreed with the defence’s submissions and excluded all the statements Gomez allegedly gave, leaving the prosecution with no evidence.

He also said it was without challenge that when he was arrested, Gomez complained of feeling unwell and was, on two occasions, taken to the Port of Spain General Hospital, where he was prescribed medication.

Jack said he could not be sure that the oral admissions and alleged confession given by Gomez were voluntary and that he was not sure that Gomez, given his medical condition at the time, said those things to the police “without hope of favour or advance and not under the pressure of ill health.” Lal was said to have been shot while intervening in a fight among neighbours.