Evesham resident granted bail

Evesham resident Richard Durrant will re-appear in court on October 29 to answer gun and ammunition charges.{{more}}

On Monday August 31, Durrant, 22, a labourer, was granted $25,000 bail by Senior Magistrate Donald Browne after pleading not guilty to illegal possession of a semi-automatic pistol and one round of .25 ammunition at Arnos Vale about 5:49 p.m. on August 28, 2009.

Prosecutor Inspector Nigel Butcher strongly objected to Durrant’s bail in light of the number of gun-related crimes that have been occurring in St Vincent, and the four homicides recorded last weekend.

As conditions of bail, Durrant was ordered to surrender his travel documents and report to the Mesopotamia Police Station every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

Butcher implored the court not to turn a blind eye to what is happening in the country.

“We had [four] homicides over one weekend, Your Worship, and for such a small country like ours, that is very frightening,” Butcher stated.

He said the likelihood of Durrant being convicted was a strong reason for him to abscond.

Standing as a friend of the court, veteran attorney Arthur Williams told the court that the grounds of the prosecution’s objection to bail were frivolous and it was highly unlikely that Durrant would abscond.

“Why would he run away for something that he might just only receive a two-year sentence?” Williams asked.

Durrant’s attorney, Patricia Marks, told the court her client was already willing to surrender his travel documents so he would not give the court any trouble or waste its time.

The matter was transferred to the Serious Offences Court for hearing.