23.9 C
Belize City
Thursday, March 28, 2024

World Down Syndrome Day

Photo: Students and staff of Stella Maris...

BPD awards 3 officers with Women Police of the Year

Photo: (l-r) Myrna Pena, Carmella Cacho, and...

Suicide on the rise!

Photo: Iveth Quintanilla, Mental Health Coordinator by Charles...

WPC Jennie Tanner, exonerated of extortion charges after being initially charged on January 30, 2013

CrimeWPC Jennie Tanner, exonerated of extortion charges after being initially charged on January 30, 2013

WPC Tanner first had her charge thrown out for want of prosecution in court on June 28; the charge was also dismissed by a Police Tribunal on July 24, but Tanner was rearrested and arraigned on the same charge on August 16, 2013

WPC Jennie Tanner was exonerated of an extortion charge this afternoon by Magistrate Clive Lino after her lawyer, Anthony Sylvester, made a submission to the court claiming an abuse of process.

WPC Tanner was initially charged with extortion on January 30 this year after a report was made by Christopher Graham, that on December 11, 2012,while in San Pedro, WPC Tanner offered to “look the other way” if he gave her $100 and bought two margaritas for her, after he was stopped for driving a crowded golf cart.

According to Graham, after he paid WPC Tanner the money and bought her the drinks, he reported the incident and asked to pursue the matter criminally.

WPC Tanner, who had been placed on interdiction, had pleaded not guilty to the charge then and had maintained her innocence throughout the matter.

On June 28, the matter was struck out of the Magistrate’s Court after no case file had been forwarded to the prosecution for them to try the case.

On July 24, WPC Tanner appeared before a Police Tribunal and had her case dismissed by the adjudicator Insp. Louis Castellanos, and had her interdiction lifted on August 2, 2013.

After returning to work for just about two weeks, WPC Tanner was again arrested on the same charge and at her arraignment on August 16, 2013 her lawyer asked that disclosure be presented to him by August 30, for trial on September 30, which was granted by the magistrate.

But when September 30 rolled around, there was still no disclosure presented to the lawyer, and that was when the submission claiming an abuse of process was made.

After hearing arguments from both sides of the table, Magistrate Lino, in his decision, told the court that he agreed that there was an abuse of process on the part of the prosecution, and that their delay in not handing over the disclosure was negligent, and they did not adhere to the ruling of the court.

He then struck out WPC Tanner’s matter and she walked out of court a free woman.

Check out our other content

World Down Syndrome Day

Suicide on the rise!

Check out other tags:

International