By Elesha George
The lawyer for Methoni Vernon, a Jamaican man charged with the 2014 shooting death of Roy Carradice, a 47-year-old farmer, is seeking to have the case dismissed, citing unlawful arrest and a breach of constitutional and international law.
Attorney Andrew O’Kola claims that in an effort to detain and charge Vernon, police in Antigua and Dominica worked together to transfer him to Antigua in 2016, in what he calls a “disguised extradition”. He said police from Antigua and Dominica “colluded” to bypass legal processes, violating Vernon’s rights.
Police initially linked Vernon to Carradice’s murder hours after the farmer was killed. At the time of his detention in Dominica, Vernon had been residing there for five years and had previously lived in Antigua for 15 years.
The legal battle over the alleged unlawful arrest of Vernon leaves questions about the legality of the arrest and O’Kola has applied for the case to be dismissed.
He argues that continuing the case against Vernon would constitute a breach of his constitutional rights, citing a 2023 Inter-American Commission on Human Rights report that supports Vernon’s claims of rights violations.
However, Justice Tunde Bakre, the presiding High Court judge, insists that he cannot rule on the arrest’s legality, stating it must first be determined by an extradition court. O’Kola disagrees, arguing the criminal court can address the issue since the facts are uncontested.
The case is adjourned to January 27, with submissions on jurisdiction due by January 8. Vernon has been out on bail pending trial.
