Both senior officers were out of country when gun case dropped

As of Friday, January 4, 2013

By KHRISNA M VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

NEITHER minister with responsibility for legal affairs will claim responsibility for dropping a gun case last month, both saying they were out of the country on official business.

The absence of Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson was revealed last week. When asked yesterday why he did not review the case in question, Minister of State for Legal Affairs Damian Gomez said he was attending the World Intellectual Property Organization Conference in Trinidad and Tobago.

The meeting convened on November 25 and ended three days later on November 28.

“I cannot speak specifically,” Mr Gomez said, “I did not deal with the matter, I was out of the country.”

Asked if he could comment on why the matter against George and Janet Hayles was considered a “national security” issue and therefore discontinued, Mr Gomez said he had no further comment.

This comes after the FNM questioned why Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald was Acting Attorney General in the absence of Mrs Allyson Maynard-Gibson, instead of Mr Gomez.

It was under the watch of Mr Fitzgerald that the status of the case, which had been before the courts since 2010, was changed.

The Hayles each faced a charge of possession of a firearm and ammunition, after police claimed finding them with a .380 pistol and 19 live rounds for the weapon. The discontinuation of the charges took place on Friday, December 28.

Not long after, Mr Fitzgerald issued a statement claiming that following a review of the file he was satisfied that it was appropriate to discontinue the prosecution.

Yesterday, while outside the Cabinet office, he declined to comment further.

Opposition Leader Dr Hubert Minnis has since made several calls for the government to clarify how and why the case was dropped.

On Wednesday, he questioned how Mr Fitzgerald could so quickly conclude that the matter was a national security issue, when Mrs Maynard-Gibson obviously did not – as the trial went forward while she was in office.

If Mr Fitzgerald is right, Dr Minnis asked whether the Attorney General did her job with regard to the case.

He also suggested Prime Minister Perry Christie replace the now Attorney General or indicate to Mr Fitzgerald that he should explain his decision to the Bahamian public.

C_MonMan 11 years, 3 months ago

The convenience of both Gibson and Gomez being off the island would be laughable if the matter was not so serious. However, of greater concern is the misguided alleged proactivity of the Acting AG/Minister of Education who claims to have acted with no indication that the AG was even consulted. Boy o boy, Fitzgerald stop talking foolishness. This matter is scandalous and embarrassing for the Bahamas. These fellas fail to appreciate that these judicial precedents have international consequences as the Bahamian economy is underpinned by the confidence of foreign investors.

legalmindatwork 11 years, 3 months ago

I concur with the above statements.....it seems as if both persons who could have acted in the correct capacity wish to wash their hands and place all of the blame on Mr. Fitzgerald. Although he did admit to reviewing the file and making the decision I must question what are his qualifications to be able to determine if a case should be thrown out based on national security. If this simple gun case could be thrown out on that basis then every thug and hoodlum that comes before the courts under the same circumstances can now be afforded to them as well. The fact that Mr. Fitzgerald has failed to further comment on his decision leaves minds to wonder if he was merely a puppet in a grander scheme.

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