By Azara Lavia
Suspended Superintendent of Police Ray John and his co-accused, Shakema Charles, are set to stand trial again in the High Court on charges of committing passport fraud.
During a committal hearing on Wednesday, the prosecution presented a substantial list of exhibits before Magistrate Dexter Wason, who ruled that the case should proceed to the May Assizes.
John and Charles are accused of conspiring with Vincentian resident Lonzel Jones and others to forge bio pages for Antigua and Barbuda passports using unauthorized Multi-Layered Infilling Sheets (MLIS). In addition, John faces charges related to receiving property connected to the alleged forgery scheme.
The decision to send the case to trial follows Magistrate Wason’s rejection of a no-case submission last week.
The defendants’ attorneys, Hugh Marshall Jr and Michael Archibald, had argued that reopening the case constituted an abuse of process, as High Court Justice Tunde Bakre had dismissed the charges in January 2024. They contended that the prosecution should have appealed that ruling rather than seeking a retrial.
Justice Bakre had previously agreed with the defence that the charges were improperly brought before the court, leading to the dismissal. However, the acting Director of Public Prosecutions Shanon-Jones-Gittens successfully sought a retrial, resulting in the current proceedings.
Now committed to trial, John and Charles remain on bail pending their next court appearance.
