Maraval man claims $2.4m for malicious prosecution

A Maraval man is demanding $2.4 million from the State for his wrongful arrest and prosecution for a Maraval murder more than a decade ago.

Attorneys for Mikado Toussaint made the demand in a pre-action protocol letter on September 30.

Toussaint was charged with a murder that took place on July 9, 2011, at Vallot Street, Boissiere Village, Maraval.

After spending over a decade in prison, he was acquitted in December 2022 when the court accepted a submission by his attorneys that the evidence against him was “manifestly unreliable.”

Since his release, Toussaint has faced “the most inevitable obstacle of every single former inmate and the stigma that goes with it,” attorney Joel Roper of Maris Stella Chambers said in the letter.

“…The verdict did not bring him the joy he envisaged. He was rejected by employers the moment they found out he was incarcerated.

“He stated that he is usually shunned by people in public who knew he was in prison.

“...even though he made a conscious effort to move forward with his life after consulting God for two weeks in the wilderness, he still gets tensed every time he hears keys opening a lock.

“Roper said when Toussaint was released from prison, there were attempts on his life but his father was instead killed.

“It was at that moment he realised that his reintegration into society would be nothing short of challenging.”

Roper contended the police knew there was no basis for laying the murder charge, acted in malice and mishandled the case.

According to Roper, Toussaint was in hospital before the police arrested him at his bedside.

He was taken to a police station and kept in a cell for over 48 hours, unable to call his mother, a relative or an attorney, the lawyer said.

Roper said he was interviewed while on medication and was disoriented but the police ignored his complaints.

He also said while in the police station cell, the police called out a name – not his – and when he told them he was the only person in the cell but that was not his name, he was charged with murder, taken to court and was remanded in prison for 11 years and five months.

Roper said Toussaint was known by the sole witness for the prosecution as he and her boyfriend were involved in an altercation but was not where the murder victim was killed.

“Our client advises that the witness, whom he knew, had a pre-existing malice against him, and went to the police station to make a report on him, relating to the altercation between him and her boyfriend.

“We are advised that she was told that she was a witness to a murder and that she needed to sign certain documents regarding the murder, to which she repeatedly told the officers she knew nothing about, and that she came to report an entirely different incident.

“Our client proposes to commence court proceedings in a bid to obtain compensation for the travesty that he has been made to endure.”

Roper also described Toussaint’s time in prison as “living in hell.” He was chopped by an inmate, beaten by prison officers, given “unhealthy and gross” food, and endured unsanitary conditions.

“Our client had been treated unfairly, falsely imprisoned and prosecuted maliciously.”

Roper said before his charges, Toussaint lived a meaningful life, was gainfully employed and was involved in community projects. He also enjoyed hiking, going to the beach and scuba diving.

While in prison, to avoid being lured by bad influences, Roper said Toussaint joined the Wishing for Wings Foundation where he became certified in PVC furniture making, decorative tiling and mediation. He also “found solace in poetry” and was also one of the winners of the Bocas Lit Fest Poetry competition in 2016.

Roper suggested avoiding the expense of litigation by engaging in “genuine, reasonable and appropriate settlement negotiations to resolve the matter amicably and expeditiously,” and has asked the Attorney General to indicate if his office was prepared to negotiate an out-of-court settlement.

Toussaint's story was featured in a Sunday Newsday series in 2023.