LAWSUIT Pg2

Samuel Barkoye

Samuel Barkoye of North Georgetown Primary School; and Rovin Lall of Stella Maris Primary School have topped the country at the 2020 National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA). Both students attained

Rovin Lall

525 marks and have earned a spot at Queen’s College.

The highest attainable mark was 528.

More than 14,000 students wrote the NGSA after it was postponed due to threatening to the officers.

Jones was arrested and taken to Brickdam Police Station on August 21, last, He was later released on bail after spending a night and the better part of the next day in the Diamond lockups.

Nandlall contended that a police officer has the power to arrest, without a

Chief Education Officer, Marcel Hutson

the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chief Education Officer, Marcel Hutson said Christopher Jones and the lawsuit should be dismissed for being frivolous and vexatious.

Police were sent to Jones’s home to recover government assets valued at $4.084M. The assets were 18 barber chairs and an air conditioning unit.

The items improvements were seen in the subject areas of English, Social Studies, and

AG asks State to dismiss Christopher Jones’s lawsuit

Attorney General, Anil Nandlall

Attorney General, Sarrabo; Assistant Anil Nandlall, has Superintendent of issued a statement Police, Chibanauth in response Singh; Corporal Singh to Opposition and Attorney General Parliamentarian, Anil Nandlall. Christopher Jones’s, Jones claimed that lawsuit which was his constitutional filed against Acting rights were breached C o m m i s s i o n e r in an unlawful of Police, Nigel search and seizure, Hoppie; Crime Chief, conducted on his Wendell Blanhum, property on August Inspector, Rodwell 20, last, and his

subsequent arrest. warrant, anyone

In his statement, whom he suspects, Nandlall noted that with reasonable cause, Hoppie and Blanhum is about to commit an were wrongly named offence or whom he as defendants; No suspects has already Order of Court committed such an preventing the search offence. The arrest is was served to the also legitimate even other defendants; and if the offence was not that Jones and several actually committed. persons that gathered Nandlall stated that around the residence Jones is not entitled were abusive and to any damages at all 2

Science.

were obtained by Jones through the Sustainable Livelihood and E n t r e p r e n e u r i a l Development (SLED) programme for construction of a barbershop. The items had not been used yet and were being stored at Jones’s home.

Chris Jones files lawsuit against seizure of items, arrest

Christopher Jones

O p p o s i t i o n Parliamentarian Christopher Jones has filed a lawsuit against the State for unlawfully searching his home and seizing barbershop equipment which was being kept there. He claims the actions of the Police were a violation of his constitutional rights and is asking the High Court to grant an

order for items to be returned.

The lawsuit was filed on August 31, 2020 on behalf of Jones by his attorneys, Nigel Hughes, Ronald Daniels and Kezia Williams against the Acting Commissioner of Police Nigel Hoppie, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum, Inspector Rodwell Sarrabo, Assistant Superintendent of Police Chibanauth Singh; Corporal Singh and the Attorney General Anil Nandlall.

Jones is seeking payment of damages in excess of $100,000 for the seizure of 16 barber chairs and two air conditioning units valued at $4.8 million; damages in excess of $100,000 for trespass to his home at 609 Conciliation Drive, Tucville, Georgetown and $100,000 for his wrongful arrest on August 21, 2020.

Jones claims that on August 20, 2020 at or about 18:30hrs during a power outage, the police who were armed, cordoned off his premises and demanded entry. They failed to provide a search warrant which led him to deny them access. He made an application to the High Court of the Supreme Court of Judicature and was granted an interim conservatory order to prevent the defendants from entering his premises. The police trespassed on his premises by jumping the fence and wrongfully seized his property. The police also wrongfully restrained, arrested and detained him.

Jones is also seeking to be awarded for exemplary damages since ‘the execution of the search, entry and arrest were violent, aggressive, arbitrary, unconstitutional and devised to invoke, and did invoke fear into him and his family.’

Additionally, Jones has asked for interest on all damages awarded, costs and any other orders the court sees fit.

Police were sent to Jones’ home after an audit document was released by Minister of Public Affairs, Kwame McCoy. The document stated that “a physical inspection of the assets purchased revealed that items valuing $4.084M were still not put into use, since these items were stored in a room at the residence of the beneficiary Mr. Christopher Jones.”

Jones said that the correct procedures were followed to obtain the items and there was nothing irregular about the transaction. The items were procured under the Ministry of Social Protection’s S u s t a i n a b l e Livelihood and E n t r e p r e n e u r i a l D e v e l o p m e n t ( S L E D ) programme.