By Tahna Weston
The teenager who was allegedly involved in an incident involving a gun at Clare Hall School is back home with his mother after being granted bail in the High Court.
Peyton Knight, the lawyer for the 15-year-old young man confirmed to Observer that his client was released on $15,000 bail with two sureties and no cash deposit.
Justice Tunde Bakre who heard the bail application on Tuesday, ordered that the teen should surrender all his travel documents to the court forthwith and that he reports to the All Saints Police Station three days each week until his trial.
The High Court judge also ordered among other things that the teen reside with his mother until the completion of his trial and that he has no direct or indirect contact with witnesses or interferes with the investigation.
The incident in which the teen was involved occurred on Friday, September 27 sometime after midday when an alarm was raised after he was allegedly seen with a firearm, which prompted school officials to immediately place the educational institution on lockdown for several hours. During this time students were unable to leave the compound.
Police arrived on the scene and carried out an extensive search of the compound, however, the weapon has not been recovered.
The teenager was taken into custody the same day and subsequently charged with having the firearm in his possession in furtherance of an offence, which is an offence under Section 13(1) of the Firearm Act Chapter 171 of the Revised Edition 1992 of the Laws of Antigua and Barbuda.
The teenager, who cannot be identified because of his age, was placed on remand at His Majesty’s Prison (HMP) after being denied bail, first before the Child Justice Board and then in the High Court, at which time the prosecution had raised concerns about him being released, to which Justice Bakre had agreed then.
At that time the judge had made an order based on Section 10 of the Child Justice Act which requires that juveniles who breach the law are to be housed at a secure residential facility and not the prison, that the young man be relocated from His Majesty’s Prison in line with the law.
The court made an order which was served on the minister responsible for social services to move swiftly to relocate the teen to a secure residential facility.
A source said that this was not done which forced Knight to pen a letter to the Attorney General on October 16 giving him seven days to comply with the court order before “the necessary application” was made to have the matter taken back before the court. Reportedly the court order, made on October 2 was served on the Attorney General’s Chambers the following day (October 3).
Knight, the source said, in expressing concern about the delay in moving his client from HMP cited that the Minister for Social Services Sir Molwyn Joseph should have consulted with the Board and the Director of Social Services to ensure that “not only the physical aspect of a juvenile is taken into consideration but also the psychological and educational needs of the child”. This is outlined in sections 45 and 46 of the Child Justice Act of 2015.
Concerns were also expressed that the 15-year-old was not undergoing counselling or any form of formal vocational or educational programme to assist him with his onward development. Apparently, the teen was being held in the maximum security block of the prison which, according to the source, his attorney had expressed concern over, especially as it pertains to its psychological effects on him.
It was based on these issues that a second bail application was made in the High Court.
A source said, however, that during the application inquiries were made as to where the teen was being housed, taking into account the earlier court order.
It is alleged that the teen was relocated from the prison to another location several hours prior to the bail hearing. However, this did not sway the judge as he granted bail, to which the prosecution made no objections.
