Witness jailed for lying to cops

Two men appeared in court today, on trial for a burglary committed last March. But it was a witness in the case who tonight finds himself behind bars. George Grant was called to the stand to testify against two men–Philip Peyrefitte and Enrique Soberanis–accused of breaking into Juanita’s on Albert Street. Grant, a watchman working across the street that night, gave an initial statement to police identifying the pair as the burglars. But after being sworn in, he told Magistrate Henry Usher that in fact he had lied, that he had an old beef with the men and deliberately tried to get them in trouble. While Magistrate Usher adjourned the case against the accused burglars until next Wednesday, he wasted no time in opening a new case–against Grant–who was detained pending charges of fabricating a statement. Punishment for such a crime ranges from a fine to up to two years in prison.