St Catherine Police Rebuked in Court After Motorist Held Five Days on Traffic Bench Warrant

A defence attorney took St Catherine police to task in court on Thursday, saying his client spent five days in lock-up on a bench warrant linked to a $5,000 traffic ticket without being brought before a judge.

Motorist Okeno Grant, of Old Harbour in St Catherine, secured bail after his lawyer, Sayeed Bernard, made submissions when the case reached the St Catherine Parish Court.

Grant faces a charge under Section 73 of the Road Traffic Act for allegedly failing to use a child restraint.

Before Senior Parish Court Judge Desiree Alleyne, Bernard contended that his client's constitutional rights were violated because he was not taken before the court earlier.

"This is ridiculous that the police are telling my client that they need a vehicle at the border to transport him to Port Maria, St Mary. This is a traffic ticket, so he should have already appeared," Bernard told the court.

Judge Alleyne later set bail for Grant at $10,000 with surety.

It is alleged that around 11 p.m. on June 13, officers carried out a bench warrant at Grant's Old Harbour home after he did not show up for a traffic ticket issued in St Mary over the alleged failure to use a child restraint.