[UPDATED] DPP reviews evidence in Ashanti Riley case: Murder charge for PH driver

Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard SC has given investigators the green light to charge with murder, the private-hire (PH) driver held in the Ashanti Riley investigation. The advice was given on Thursday evening.

Another man, who was also in custody, has been ordered released. A third suspect is still being sought.

Police sources said the driver, who comes from Sunshine Avenue, San Juan – the same area where Riley lived – told them he was threatened by two other men to take them and Riley to the place where she died. The 32-year-old man said after picking up Riley, he picked up two other men, one known in the community as a criminal. Fearing for his life, he did as he was told.

When the men got to Upper La Canoa in Santa Cruz, one took the keys out of the ignition and told the driver to wait.

The two men then moved away with Riley.

The driver told police that when the men returned, Riley was not with them. He was given back his car keys and drove off. He continued working his car for hire after leaving Santa Cruz that day.

The driver, who has a seven-year-old daughter, added that he was fearful for his life and hence did not contact police about what had happened. After learning the police wanted him, he surrendered and sought the services of a lawyer.

Police sources said the driver helped investigators find Riley’s body last Friday in a shallow stream at Upper La Canoa, five days after she went missing on November 29.

An autopsy on Wednesday, revealed she died from sharp force wounds to the right chest and lower abdomen and blunt force trauma (from a beating) to the back of the left chest.

Police said the driver was charged in January for robbery and indecent assault.

CCTV footage along with video recordings from businesses and homes in the area showed Riley after she was picked up in a blue Nissan Almera car from her home at Lloyd Street, Sunshine Avenue. She was heading to San Juan. Later, two other men are picked up and the teen is seen being taken in the opposite direction from her intended destination.

Police said they seized clothing from the two men, including the driver, when they searched the men’s homes.

‘PUBLIC SHOULD

KEEP QUIET’

When Newsday contacted the driver’s attorney Fareed Ali on Thursday, he said statements his client had given to police were made before he retained Ali and he would not comment on them.

He added that his client was expected to be interviewed on Thursday.

Asked about claims that his client has a history of assaulting women, Ali said his client only has two charges, stemming from one incident, and nothing more.

“My client was never convicted of any criminal offence of any nature and is not known to the police. He has no history, barring those charges, with the criminal justice system.”

On widespread comments on social media about the case, Ali said, “The public is wrong to comment on this police investigation. That does not assist the investigative process, the accused and the justice system. They should be quiet! This is not appropriate for them to be involved in, and any statement made that my client is a known sex offender is far from the truth.”

In an earlier interview on Wednesday, Ali lamented that there were issues facing suspects that have not been addressed for well over a decade and he hopes the spotlight placed on the Riley murder can help address them. He referred to the Evidence Bill, saying he hoped it would be laid in Parliament and passed to protect the rights of accused.

“As it is now, the way suspects are treated is a privilege up to the discretion of the police, and not a right. The Evidence Bill, once it becomes law, will make it mandatory for suspects to be treated humanely.”

He added that other aspects of the proposed legislation include the way police hold identification parades, as the intended law will give suspects a choice of which of five methods of identification they want used.

On Police Commissioner Gary Griffith’s support for pepper spray to be legalised and used by women and girls as a form of protection against attacks by men, Ali said he is not easily convinced by the regulating of pepper spray. He said it can be used against the very person it was intended to protect.

“What is the dosage? How much is enough to stop an attack? We cannot be so ad hoc to appease families of victims. There needs to be a proper rationale for it,” Ali said.

He added that issuing guns is also not an answer, as militarising the citizenry will not address the issues of crime and criminality.

This story has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

HOMICIDE DETECTIVES are preparing to charge one suspect for the murder of San Juan teenager Ashanti Riley.

Detectives who had been gathering evidence and questioning two suspects for over a week did not have sufficient evidence to support any charges against the second suspect, aged 29 of San Juan, who is expected to be released tonight.

Police are searching for a third man for the crime.

The officers had their first consultation with Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard SC on Thursday afternoon. Gaspard, after reviewing the evidence, advised them to charge the 32-year-old taxi driver.

Riley, 18, of Lloyd Street, Sunshine Avenue, went missing after she boarded a PH taxi to go to her grandmother's home on November 29.

Her decomposing body was found in a stream off a deserted track in an area known as Cakes Land, La Canoa last Friday.

An autopsy on Wednesday said Riley died from sharp force injuries to the right of her chest and lower abdomen and blunt force trauma to the back of the left chest.

Her murder sparked national outrage prompting the Prime Minister to urge women to be more careful when they venture out and the Police Commissioner to advocate for women to be allowed to carry pepper spray as a form of non-lethal defence.

Dr Rowley also noted that the idea of PH taxis, which is illegal, had to be re-examined and needed the support of the population.

A motorcade to honour Riley is planned for Saturday in San Juan and is entitled Drive for Justice.