However, this was not the case for the captain of the crew, Louis Alberto Mercedes, who was remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison and ordered to pay a $30,000 fine or spend one year behind bars. Court dockets alleged that on Sunday July 16 the crew of 66 men was found in the Cay Sal Bank illegally fishing in Bahamian waters. The charges alleged that the men were also found in possession of a quantity of grouper weighing less than three pounds. Additionally, the court dockets alleged that the men were also found in possession of prohibited apparatus, namely 27 spear guns and 22 air compressors. The men pleaded guilty to all four charges. Attorney Murrio Ducille represented the crew and argued that Chief Magistrate Roger Gomez have mercy on his clients as they did not waste the court’s time via their guilty plea and are “extremely remorseful and have apologised.” He added that the men have already been punished by having to spend a week at Her Majesty’s Prison in such horrible conditions. He added that the men have no previous convictions and, “it is not unknown that they could have gotten lost,” adding “some of them don’t even know where they are now.” The 66 men were packed into the tiny courtroom and eagerly listened to their interpreter as he translated their fate to them.
After a long debate between Attorney Ducille and Prosecutor Althea Porter over whether or not the vessel should be confiscated, Chief Magistrate Gomez finally decided that the vessel, and the apparatus, would be taken away. Mercedes, the crew’s captain, was remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison, while the other 65 men were taken to The Detention Centre where they will stay until they are deported. Outside the courtroom angry Defence Force officers expressed disgust at the magistrate’s ruling claiming that their efforts at sea, “are a waste of time.”
In other court news:
A 34-year-old man was arraigned on unlawful sexual intercourse and incest charges.
Joel Lorenzo Phillips of Soldier Road pleaded not guilty to the charges.
But court dockets allege that sometime between 2005 and 2006 he had unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old female and in June and July of 2005 he had sexual with a 12-year-old girl.
Phillips was remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison until an August 3 Preliminary Inquiry.
By: IANTHIA SMITH, The Nassau Guardian
