Carapo man freed of 2021 murder after State fails to present evidence

A Carapo man charged with the murder of an Arouca businessman in 2021 has been formally discharged by the High Court because the prosecution failed to present evidence.

Renaldo Thomas, who was arrested on March 29, 2021, and charged on April 12 that year, appeared before Master Sarah De Silva at the High Court on June 6.

His case, which was initially heard at the Arima Magistrates’ Court before being transferred to the High Court under the Administration of Justice (Preliminary Inquiries) Act (AJIPA), had been stalled repeatedly due to the State’s non-compliance with disclosure requirements.

At least three scheduled sufficiency hearings, in August 2024, October 2024, and March, were adjourned because the prosecution failed to disclose evidence.

In each instance, the State filed applications for extensions on the morning of the hearing, a practice frowned on by the Master as it was in breach of Rule 5(9)(1) and, Rule 5(9)(2)(b) of the Criminal Procedure Rules 2023, which requires a 14-day notice period for such applications.

In April, though still not ready to proceed, a final extension was granted. However, on the morning of the sufficiency hearing on June 6, she made it clear that no further adjournments would be granted. When the court insisted that the sufficiency hearing proceed, the prosecution indicated it had no evidence to offer in Thomas’s case.

De Silva questioned why a notice of discontinuance had not been filed and made it clear that the court will not discharge Thomas in a manner that would allow the State to re-arrest and re-lay charges.

Thomas was then formally arraigned, and with the prosecution offering no evidence, the court ruled under Section 24 of AJIPA, which allows for discharge when evidence fails to meet the prima facie threshold, that he be discharged.

The court also ordered that Thomas’s recognisance be voided and any items seized upon his arrest and remand be returned.

Thomas was not immediately released since he faces another charge in the Tobago magistrates’ court and had been denied bail since he was on the murder charge.

His attorney, Roshan Tota-Maharaj, was advised to notify the court of his client’s change in circumstances as far as bail is concerned.

Another man was also charged with Mohith’s murder and is still before the court. Mohith, 31, of Eastern Main Road, Arouca, was at his business place with a male relative around 4 pm on March 11, 2021, when a gunman entered and shot him before running off.