Prosecution botches San Pedro murder case

The crime shocked the resort town of San Pedro last November, when five men were accused of involvement in the bludgeoning death of sixty-three year old Justo Jairo Perez during a burglary. Kevin Gonzalez Junior, Lincoln Polonio, Francis Eiley, Ernest Savery and Frank Vasquez were jointly charged with murder. But nine months after those charges were laid, the case crumbled this morning in Magistrate’s Court Number Five. Defence Lawyer Kadian Lewis who represented Gonzalez, argued that the charges be dismissed on four points: that the prosecution was in breach of an order for full disclosure, that a preliminary inquiry was still not ready nine months after the arrests, that her client’s constitutional rights were denied by failure to have a fair hearing within a reasonable time and that there appeared to be a lack of interest in prosecuting the matter. Magistrate Harrison Hulett agreed with those arguments and just like that the case was struck out, leaving the five defendants free to go about their business. According to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, a “comedy of errors” prevented the prosecution from assembling the necessary documentation to prepare the case file. But although Gonzalez, Eiley, Polonio, Savery and Vasquez were released, the D.P.P.’s office says that it does not mean they are off the hook, as efforts are being made to “ensure that justice is served.” While the D.P.P.’s office would not discuss the specifics of those efforts, News 5 understands that striking out the case is not the same as having it dismissed, and that re-arresting and charging all five suspects remains a possibility. As to the “comedy of errors,” an embarrassed official in the D.P.P.’s office says directives have been forwarded to the Police prosecution branch to ensure that the incident is not repeated.