THE MONTHLY GLEANER | DECEMBER 11, 2023 - JANUARY 10, 2024 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | NEWS MISSED 7 [ NEWS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED ] December 18 hearing for church ritual killing THE DEFENCE and the prosecution in the matter involving Andre Ruddock, accused of slashing the throat of a woman during an alleged church ritual in St James nearly two years ago, have discussed and agreed on a date and the mode for the trial. Justice Judith Pusey gave the instructions to the parties when they appeared in the Home Circuit Court for the plea and case management hearing last week. However, the hearing was rescheduled to December 18. The defendant was further remanded. In the meantime, Ruddock’s lawyer, Anthony Williams, has indicated that his client wishes to have a judge-alone trial, but the prosecution said that it needs time to get further advice on whether that is permissible. Taneka Gardner, 39 was killed during an alleged sacrificial ritual at Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries in St James. A man identified as Michael Brown was also found dead on the compound of the church on October 17, 2021. Ruddock was taken into custody by the police following a bizarre series of events that ended in the deaths of the two individuals and reportedly confessed to Gordon’s murder. Ruddock and Gardener were both members of the ministry, headed by the late Dr Kevin Smith. American offered $500,000 bail in weapons purchase case An American businessman, who allegedly purchased five of the weapons that were discovered in a massive gun find in a warehouse at the wharf in Kingston in March last year, has been offered bail in the sum of $500,000. The 32-year-old defendant, Fitzroy Johnson, who resides in Atlanta, Georgia, was last Tuesday granted bail in the Gun Court on conditions that he surrender his travel documents and report to the police three times weekly. Attorney-at-law Kemar Robinson during his application denied any involvement on the part of his client in the importation and purchase of the illegal guns and ammunition. He was arrested at the Norman Manley International Airport on his arrival in the island on November 3. Johnson, who is charged with conspiracy to illegally import guns and ammunition, is the third foreigner to have been arrested in the illegal gun find, in which 2,000 rounds of ammunition were also discovered. According to investigators, Johnson had entered into an arrangement and paid for five of the illegal guns. In the meantime, four other persons who are charged in the matter, including the alleged mastermind and the other two foreigners, had their bails extended to return to court on December 14 for a plea and case management hearing. A trial date was also scheduled for May 13 next year. April 3 trial date set for $222m INSPORTS fraud A trial date for April 3 of next year has been set for a judge-alone hearing of the $222-million fraud uncovered at the Institute of Sports (INSPORTS). The case, which was initially set for mention on January 18 of next year, was brought forward after the trial window was found. A plea and case management hearing was instead scheduled for that date. Andrew Wright, former financial controller at INSPORTS, and five former employees implicated in a suspected fraud at the government agency, all had their bail extended to return to court in January. Wright, the promoter of the French Connection and Chug It parties, is charged along with his co-defendants Rudolph Barnes, Oneil Hope, Jonnique Mills, Andrea Picton, and Sherene Farquharson. The defendants are accused of being part of a team of former INSPORTS employees who wrote, signed, and cashed fraudulent cheques for payees who were neither employed nor contracted to the agency. They are charged with various offences, including conspiracy to defraud; acquisition, use, and possession of criminal property; engaging in transactions involving criminal property; and larceny as a servant. The suspected fraud and other irregularities were detected by INSPORTS in 2017 during an examination of its financial records. The matter was then reported to the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency, triggering an investigation. In the meantime, the prosecution has disclosed that it intends to rely on 50 witnesses during a three-month trial. Kgn projected to lose landmass to sea level rise by century end With Kingston listed as one of 10 cities globally that is projected to lose landmass due to rising sea levels by the end of the century, urban planning and public policy expert Dr Carol Archer is renewing calls for the Government to urgently establish a national spatial plan. In a report released on Tuesday by Human Climate Horizons – a collaboration between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Climate Impact Lab – scientists are warning that countries without shoreline defences could permanently lose five per cent or more of their cities to rising sea levels by the end of the century. While stating that the information is in line with other estimations, Archer expressed concern that not enough attention and priority are being given to how cities and towns are designed. She said the last national spatial plan was done in the 1970s, and as the impact of climate change on the environment becomes more intense, an updated version is needed. “What it is saying is that things are getting worse, not better, because we would have had this information – detailed studies – about 10 years now. And even before the data confirming, we would have heard and seen both scientists and city planners and others signalling,” she told The Gleaner. She outlined that a spatial plan, which refers to the planning systems used to influence the distribution of people and activities in various spaces, would enable the Government to better plan and mitigate the impact of issues such as rising sea levels. Dr Carol Archer, urban planner and professor in the Faculty of the Built Environment at The University of Technology. FILE
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