State to compensate Carapo man for wrongful arrest

THE STATE has agreed to compensate a Carapo man for his midnight arrest in 2021.

Days before the matter was expected to go to trial, the State conceded and accepted liability for Jevon Craig’s wrongful arrest and false imprisonment.

Justice Frank Seepersad approved the consent order and referred the assessment of damages to a High Court master.

In his claim, Craig said on October 26, 2021, a group of officers surrounded his home. Some 13 police vehicles parked on his compound and officers kicked down his front door.

His lawsuit said video footage was recorded showing the police’s entry. After shouting, “Don’t move,” they pointed guns at him and his wife and he was pulled out of bed and made to kneel on gravel outside.

His feet were also stamped on and he was warned against making “a scene” or “it will be real trouble.”

His wife was shown a warrant to search for guns and ammunition and her phone was taken from her.

After they found nothing illegal, the police searched two vehicles on the compound. Again, nothing illegal was found.

Craig was arrested and taken to the Maloney police station and released six hours later.

He returned to the station for his car keys and was told to check the Arima police station. When he went there, he was told the station did not have them.

Craig went back to the Maloney station and was told to check the Arouca police station, where police also said they knew nothing.

His lawsuit said he is unable to use or access the vehicle, for which he was paying on a work-to-own arrangement.

In its defence, the State claimed the police “made extensive checks” for station diary extracts at the Maloney police station about the incident, but these “proved futile.”

It also said the Maloney police station did not have a prisoner feeding register and had no record to show Craig suffered loss and damage.

In reply to Craig’s claims, the State neither admitted nor denied them.

In an amended defence, the State said police received a report of a shooting in the Carapo area about a quintuple murder and after surveillance, obtained search warrants.

The State then admitted Craig and his wife were shown the search warrants and he was told the reason for his arrest was that he was being “profiled relative to the shooting enquiry.”

The amended defence admitted Craig was taken to the Maloney police station, but was not put in a cell.

It insisted there was reasonable and probable cause to arrest Craig on the basis of reports and surveillance by the police.

“There was reason to arrest him and profile him to acquire information about him such as his date of birth, previous convictions, and affiliations with any known offender.

“The said profiling was conducted within a reasonable time as the claimant was immediately released after he was profiled pending further enquiries.”

It also denied “each and every allegation” in Craig’s claim.

On September 27, the State accepted liability.

Attorneys Lemuel Murphy and Roshan Tota-Maharaj represented Craig.