Meighan Brothers Get Bail
The Meighan brothers—namely: Ellis, Tyrone and Shaquille—all got bail today when their attorney, Dickie Bradley successfully argued before Supreme Court Justice Antoinette Moore that someone being accused of being a member of a street gang – the offence for which they are charged – is not reason enough to deprive the brothers of their freedom. The prosecution had produced photos showing a basketball court on Banak Street where the brothers’ family home is situated, with graffiti, as well as other photos showing them displaying gang signs and tattoos. But Justice Moore agreed with Bradley and offered the brothers bail of ten thousand dollars each. The brothers had appeared last week Friday before Justice Moore to be considered for bail, but there was a delay because the police had not yet completed taking statements from witnesses to have the case file completed for consideration. Hence it was deferred until today. But Bradley told News Five after the bail proceedings that some of the evidence brought against the brothers date back to almost two years.
Dickie Bradley
Dickie Bradley, Attorney for the Meighan brothers
“The argument centred mainly on what is the new information. It is not new and I will not call any names, but there is a statement dated eighteenth of October, 2018, to say that intelligence gathering information shows that there is tattooes on the persons and on their Facebook, they pose with other persons who are supposedly gang members and they have various signs that show that these are supposedly gang signs. That is not enough to take a citizen of Belize and keep them in a prison until the matter is tried. And the learned trial judge said that in the circumstance she is going to grant bail and that bail is in the sum of ten thousand dollars for each of the brothers. None of the three persons have ever been convicted of anything in the courts. They have been arrested regularly, but we all know the police are targeting the young men in the city of Belize, particularly young black me, some of whom should be in prison. Let’s admit that some of them are not trying to do good; they are trying to do bad. In this case, we are hoping that what has transpired—the fact that they know they are being targeted, they know that they are being watched, photographed; lies are being told, that their lives are also in danger. So bail was granted.”
The brothers are expected to appear in the Magistrate’s Court on March twenty-fourth for the case against them to commence. They were charged about two weeks ago with Being Members of a Street Gang, namely the Banak Street Clique.
