The case of former Caribbean Shores area representative, Jose Coye, and his former driver, Cornel Flowers, was supposed to enter the preliminary inquiry stage today, but late this morning it was adjourned for two weeks, until July 24, on the request of the prosecution.
We understand that the investigation has run into some serious snags, though Acting Director of Public Prosecutions, Cheryl-Lynn Branker-Taitt, told Amandala this afternoon that the DPP’s office has made no decision to withdraw the charges.
She told us that the investigation is still ongoing, and no final decision will be taken until the police have exhausted all their options.
One critical development in the case is that the complainant, Alfred Shakron, owner of JEC & Co. Ltd. in Belize City, has indicated that he does not wish to assist in the prosecution of the case any further, said Branker-Taitt.
Amandala tried to contact Shakron this evening, but to no avail, and we left a message for him indicating that we were trying to reach him for comment.
Coye told Amandala this afternoon, after the adjournment by Chief Magistrate Margaret Gabb-McKenzie, that he was expecting to be exonerated today.
He said that to date, the evidence has still not been disclosed to him and his attorneys, Godfrey Smith and Dickie Bradley, even though they were expecting disclosures to have been made two weeks ago.
Coye maintained today that he is innocent of the “preposterous and outrageous” charges.
On April 30, Coye and Flowers were formally arraigned in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court #2, before Magistrate Dorothy Flowers, for allegedly stealing $275,000 from Shakron in a land transaction dating back to last June.
Both men were charged for theft and obtaining property by deception.
Our sources said Shakron had sworn a statement to police claiming that he had paid $575,000 to Coye through Flowers for the purchase of lot 1077 in the Caribbean Shores constituency, which is the property upon which the Putt Putt Bar and Grill sits on Princess Margaret Drive in Belize City. He claims he had paid an additional payment of roughly $18,000, supposedly for stamp duties.
The allegation is that after the elections, with rumors that the new administration would reverse the transaction, Shakron had concerns about his land title and demanded a refund, but only $300,000 was returned to him.
Police have not been able to establish a paper trail for the entire transaction, and so Shakron’s testimony in court would have been critical in probing the facts of the case. However, Shakron has indicated that he would not be assisting the prosecution any further, said the DPP, who did not tell us the reason Shakron gave them for the withdrawal.