A LITTLE over a month after the Court of Appeal cleared the way for anyone charged with murder to apply for bail, the first application has been granted to a Belmont man charged with a 2014 murder in that district.
Joel King, also called Joel Grimes and Catty, of Rigsby Road, was granted bail of $1.5 million with a surety by High Court Master Nalini Singh on Friday.
King is charged with the April 15, 2014, murder of Nkosi Harricharan at Hermitage Road, Belmont. He was committed to stand trial on August 15, 2017.
In her ruling, Singh said no doubt the offence for which he was charged was serious, but it was only one consideration the court had to look at before deciding if to grant bail.
She said having reviewed all the electronic files as well as the submissions of the prosecution and defence, the State had failed to show why King should remain in custody.
In addition to giving a cash-bail alternative of $750,000, she said if he breached any of the 21 conditions of bail, it will be immediately revoked and he will be taken into custody.
A copy of her order will be sent to the Police Commissioner, the senior officer at the Belmont police station, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Licensing Commissioner and the Chief Immigration Officer.
Newsday understands the State is expected to appeal the decision by Monday.
King was represented by attorney Larry Williams and Toni Roberts. The State was represented by prosecutor Veona Neal-Munroe.
In her ruling, Singh reminded that “the requirements as to bail are merely to secure the attendance of the prisoner at the trial.”
She said the nature and seriousness of an offence cannot determine whether bail should be denied and were just one consideration to be weighed in the balance, and not by themselves, as a ground for refusing bail.
“There is no question that the offence with which the applicant has been charged is a serious one," she noted, adding, however, that the court was satisfied that “with the imposition of appropriate conditions attached to bail, coupled with the requirement for a surety, it can effectively mitigate the State’s fear that this applicant will fail to surrender to custody.”
Singh also noted the State’s response to the court’s enquires on the possibility of using electronic monitoring equipment. She said the court was prepared to make electronic monitoring a condition of bail after his attorney said he would be willing to be subject to a 24-hour home curfew.
However, Singh was told the State will not support electronic monitoring in this case after discussions were held with the director of that unit. In a recent affidavit, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of National Security, Gary Joseph, said the unit did not have the proper equipment to monitor a murder accused at this time.
Also as part of her ruling, Master Singh ordered copies of her bail order to be served on the Commissioner of Police, the inspector in charge of the Belmont Police Station, the Chief Immigration Officer, the Chief Licensing Officer, the Di
