The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporters

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

A 29-year-old business owner who behaved in a disorderly manner when being questioned by police about a complaint made by Progressive Liberal Party Deputy Leader Chester Cooper was on Friday placed on probation for a year.

Richard Johnson, 29, appeared before Assistant Chief Magistrate Subusola Swain charged with one count of disorderly behaviour.

Officers said Johnson acted in a disorderly manner on May 6 after he was “invited” to the Central Detective Unit concerning a complaint made about him by Mr Cooper. The complaint was not specified in court.

The prosecution said after the accused arrived at the station, he was told by an officer why he had been summoned.

However, the prosecution claimed that after the officer did so, the accused started to behave in a disorderly manner by raising his voice and accusing the officer of being a “PLP police” and “a part of a witch hunt.”

The court was told the accused was warned by the officer and later informed that his house would have to be searched.

However, the prosecution said the accused continued to “behave disorderly” by raising his voice, despite repeated warnings by the officer.

The accused was subsequently arrested and interviewed by police, when he denied the offence.

During Friday’s arraignment, Johnson accepted the facts and pleaded guilty to the charge.

In mitigation, his attorney explained to Magistrate Swain that Johnson was a self-employed business owner who had moved to New Providence from Grand Bahama after Hurricane Dorian in 2019.

The attorney said the incident was just a “misunderstanding” between Johnson and police and that Johnson was extremely remorseful for his actions. The court was also told the accused had no previous convictions.

Magistrate Swain was subsequently asked to grant the accused a conditional discharge, however she refused and instead, placed him on probation for a year.

She warned Johnson that if he ran into any other problems within that time frame, he would be convicted and sentenced to 14 days in prison.

Alynden Munroe, 37, also appeared before Magistrate Swain charged with one count each of assault, threats of harm and damage.

Officers allege that Munroe unlawfully assaulted and threatened to harm Perissa Saunders on April 12. He was further accused of causing damage to Ms Saunders’ Samsung phone on the same day.

However, during Friday’s hearing, Munroe denied all the offences and his case was adjourned to September 9 for trial. Bail was granted at $2,000 with one surety.