No one turns up to bail woman accused of arson

No one was available to bail a woman who was charged for the second time with burning down her family’s home when she came before the Serious Offences Court yesterday.

Cherline Lewis was charged that she did on November 21, 2015, at Lower Questelles, destroy by fire a 32ft x 26ft wooden house and its contents worth $55,000, belonging to Cristana Lewis of Lower Questelles.The matter is set for preliminary inquiry, and Lewis was not required to plea.

Senior Prosecutor Adolphus Delpesche had indicated to Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne-Matthias that the matter was likely to be a short one, and he had no objection to bail, provided there was sufficiency of surety.Browne-Matthias set bail in the sum of $20,000 for the accused, with one surety, and asked her if she had anyone there to bail her.

The defendant turned to a woman sitting in the court room, who she indicated to be related to her, as if she was expecting her to bail her.The woman in the courtroom looked around in confusion at the officers looking at her and stated in a tone of disbelief, “Me nah go bail she.”Cherline Lewis then told the Chief Magistrate that she had no one to bail her.

Browne-Matthias told the defendant that she would have to try to find somebody and set conditions to report to the Questelles Police Station every Wednesday between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. The matter was adjourned to June 4.

The defendant left in prison transport, no-one having bailed her before court adjourned for the day.The defendant is apparently related to the complainant. In an interview with SEARCHLIGHT shortly after the house was burnt, Christana Lewis had indicated that the wooden house had belonged to her deceased mother, and that after it was burnt down she had nowhere left to go.Household appliances, clothes, shoes and personal documents were all said to have been consumed by the flames.