Pending call data delays case against men on drug charges

WESTERN BUREAU:The case against two St James men who were reportedly held with over two pounds of cocaine last March has been deferred to June 6 as telephone data is still outstanding from the prosecution's file.

Hugh Roach, of Westgate Hills in Montego Bay, and Kirk Levey, of a Porto Bello address, are charged with possession of and dealing in two pounds and 3.24 ounces of cocaine. They were given the new court date when they appeared in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court on Tuesday.

Reports are that on March 6, 2013 at approximately 5:20 p.m., a police team was on an operation in Westgate Hills, when members of the team saw Roach and Levey on the front patio of Roach's house.

Roach allegedly attempted to hide a plastic bag under his chair, but the bag was retrieved and found to contain a rectangular package wrapped in masking tape, which, when cut open, had a white powdery substance resembling cocaine. Roach and Levey were arrested and charged.

In court on Tuesday, Clerk of the Court, Natalie Malcolm, told presiding magistrate Carolyn Tie that it was not certain if the outstanding call data would be forthcoming, due to the amount of time that had elapsed since the matter was brought before the court.

However, defence attorney Martyn Thomas, who spoke on behalf of the defendants, declared that the records could still be obtained.

RM Tie subsequently set the case for mention on June 6.

- Christopher Thomas