SRP, brother, sister freed of wounding charges

A SPECIAL Reserve Police officer, his brother, sister and a friend have been freed in the Couva magistrates’ court on wounding and assault charges. Since 2016, when SRP Miguel Polo, 43, his brother Vijay, 41, their sister Elizabeth, 45, and Nicholas Aguillera were charged, the file had not reached the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC, also submitted to magistrate Christine Charles yesterday that since the alleged incident on October 31 that year, no prosecution witnesses have ever attended. The case was fixed for hearing on four occasions, he added, but the police were never ready to proceed after three years.

The Polos and Aguillera were jointly charged with assaulting Vanessa Vialva and wounding her husband Bradley Ramnarine at Mt Pleasant Road, Springvale, Claxton Bay. The charges against the four were that they beat Vialva and chopped Ramnarine on the hand outside a bar in Springvale.

Yesterday, Maharaj, instructed by attorney Jeevan Andrew Rampersad, told Charles the latter had sent four letters to the DPP in San Fernando and Port of Spain, asking for a copy of the police complainant's file, but to no avail.

Maharaj further submitted that the suspension of Miguel Polo from police duties since the incident still did not move the prosecution at least to disclose items such the alleged victims’ witness statements. Not a single item of disclosure has been made, he added.

The police prosecutor told Charles acting Sgt Pierre, who laid the charge, will not return from leave until next year and he could not proceed with the case.

Maharaj called on Charles to dismiss the charges for want of prosecution and she obliged.