SoE detainee gets $350k bail on attempted murder, gun charges

One of the men detained under emergency powers regulations was charged with attempted murder and granted bail by a High Court master on April 14.

Shane Benito, also known as Gorgy of Connector Road, Union Plymouth Road, Tobago and also of St Michael Village, Las Cuevas, was one of 50 individuals detained under ministerial preventative detention orders.

He appeared before Master Indira Chinebas who granted him $350,000 bail on a May 2, 2024, attempted murder charge and possession of firearms and ammunition.

These charges were dismissed two months ago by another master.

His attorney Keron Ramkhalwhan has asked the master to dismiss the charges. Chinebas is expected to rule on May 16.

Ramkhalwhan argued that the re-laying of the charges not only undermined the integrity of the judicial process but also put his client in a perpetual state of legal jeopardy, subject to repeated prosecutions without finality.

“This is especially egregious where, as in the present case, the applicant has already suffered considerable prejudice to his livelihood and reputation,” he said in his application filed on April 14.

Ramkhalwhan complained that the re-laying of charges was an abuse of the court's process and offended the principles of fairness, legal certainty, and the finality of litigation.

“The court’s processes must not be manipulated to give the prosecution multiple opportunities to rectify its own failings, particularly at the expense of an accused who has been lawfully discharged.”

He said the court now lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the charges.

“The proper course available to the police officers is to appeal the decision rendered by master Cazabon.

“Accordingly, this Court must determine whether it is seized with jurisdiction to adjudicate the current charges, having regard to their prior discharge by master Cazabon.

“In this regard, I submit that the decision of the police officers to relay the same charges that were discharged by master Cazabon is an abuse of process and/or contrary to law and/or ultra vires the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act.

“In other words, this court has no jurisdiction to treat with the present charges laid. The charges as laid ought to be dismissed forthwith.”

He also said a court had an inherent jurisdiction to stay proceedings where a prosecution amounts to an abuse of process. “This may arise where the prosecution has manipulated or misused

court procedures, thereby depriving the defendant of legal protections or obtaining an unfair procedural advantage, or where unjustifiable delay has caused prejudice.”

He also said because of the “grave yet baseless allegations,” his client, “a humble fisherman by profession, suffered significant personal and reputational harm.

“The charges not only disrupted his livelihood but have also brought undue stress and emotional hardship upon him and his common law wife, with whom he shares a modest but stable life.”

Benito was detained under a ministerial preventative detention order on January 31.

Newsday also understands one of those charged before the state of emergency ended at midnight on April 13, was a Port of Spain man identified as a gang leader. He is facing a second charge of being a gang leader and is expected to appear before a master on April 15. A similar charge against him had been dismissed in September 2024.

The exact number of those charged is unclear as police have provided conflicting numbers. Acting Police Commissioner Junior Benjamin told Newsday on April 13, ten of the 50 people detained under ministerial orders had been charged. The remainder were released on April 13, hours before the SoE ended at midnight. The emergency powers regulations allowed the authorities to detain individuals without charge if they are deemed a threat to public safety, order, or national security. The orders said the detentions were preventive measures aimed at disrupting criminal networks and preventing further violence.

The SoE was declared on December 30, 2024, two days after an attempt was made on the life of alleged gang leader Carlvin Lee, also called Tyson, while he and a group of men were ambushed by gunmen while leaving the Besson Street Police Station.

Lee was also detained under a ministerial order on January 17, after being on house arrest. He had been under house arrest shortly after the SoE began.

Lee, according to police, was the intended target when gunmen waited outside the Besson Street Police Station on December 28, 2024. Trevor Williams, who was accompanying Lee at the time, was killed when the gunmen fired at the group as they left the station after Lee had signed the bail book. A day later, Cleon Lugin, 37, Derron Calliste, 35, Kambon Omowale, 39, Garet Smart, and Ryan Lessey, 24, were killed in a suspected reprisal attack.

The following day, the government advised the President to declare the SoE out of concern over reprisals that could lead to more deaths and endanger the public. Then acting attorney general Stuart Young and former National Security minister Fitzgerald Hinds told a media conference police told the government it had information of intended increased gang violence with the use of high-powered weapons.

On Sunday, Benjamin told Newsday the initial threat had been averted.