Attempted murder charges against 3 SoE detainees dismissed

Hall of Justice, Port of Spain. -

THREE men who were separately detained under two states of emergency in 2025 and later re-charged in relation to a 2024 attempted murder have, for a second time, been discharged by the High Court after police again failed to comply with court orders.

Shane Benito, Kishon Edwards and Kellon Sorais were discharged by Master Indira Chinebas on charges arising out of the attempted murder of a Tobago man on May 2, 2024, at Turtle Beach, Heritage Park, Black Rock, Tobago.

In dismissing the charges on January 6, Chinebas reminded the parties that the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act had been in force for over two years, which was sufficient time for all stakeholders to become familiar with the law and the consequences of non-compliance.

“There is an order in place. It can’t be that the courts, in 2026, are being dragged back to preliminary inquiries,” she said.

She noted that the matter had previously been discharged, re-laid, challenged and overruled, yet there was still no explanation for what had occurred. “Sufficient time was given to resubmit the file and prepare for the sufficiency hearing,” she added.

Chinebas said her court routinely granted extensions within reason, but none had been sought by the prosecution in this matter. She further held that the police’s explanation of administrative mishaps was not an acceptable justification for the delay, and accordingly discharged the three men.

Her ruling followed submissions from PC Subero, who said there was some “confusion” surrounding the resubmission of the file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) after the attempted murder charge was re-laid in 2025. In March 2025, another master had discharged the men after police failed to comply with scheduling orders.

Subero explained that although an indictment had previously been filed, when the charges were re-laid in April 2025, and new scheduling orders were issued by Chinebas, the file was not submitted to the DPP to facilitate the filing of a new indictment against the three men.

In asking the court for a two-week adjournment to allow for the indictment to be filed, Subero also conceded that it was unlikely the State would be ready to proceed with the January 20 sufficiency hearing.

In response, attorney Keron Ramkhalwhan, who represents the men, said the State’s explanation was unacceptable, particularly in light of its admission that it would be impossible to file the indictment in time for the sufficiency hearing.

At a previous hearing, he argued that the re-laying of the charges not only undermined the integrity of the judicial process but also placed his clients in a perpetual state of legal jeopardy, exposing them to repeated prosecutions without finality.

“This is especially egregious where, as in the present case,” Ramkhalwhan said.

He contended that the re-laying of the charges constituted an abuse of the court’s process and offended the principles of fairness, legal certainty and finality in litigation.

“The court’s processes must not be manipulated to give the prosecution multiple opportunities to rectify its own failings, particularly at the expense of an accused who has been lawfully discharged,” he said.

Ramkhalwhan further submitted that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the charges. “The proper course available to the police officers is to appeal the decision,” he said.

“Accordingly, this court must determine whether it is seized with jurisdiction to adjudicate the current charges, having regard to their prior discharge by the master.

“In this regard, I submit that the decision of the police officers to re-lay the same charges that were discharged is an abuse of process and/or contrary to law and/or ultra vires the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act.

“In other words, this court has no jurisdiction to treat with the present charges laid. The charges as laid ought to be dismissed forthwith.”

He also argued that the court possessed an inherent jurisdiction to stay proceedings where a prosecution amounted to an abuse of process. This, he said, could arise where the prosecution had manipulated or misused court procedures, thereby depriving the defendant of legal protections, obtaining an unfair procedural advantage, or where unjustifiable delay had caused prejudice.

Chinebas had overruled those submissions, issued a scheduling order and set January 20 for the sufficiency hearing.

Benito, also known as “Gorgy,” of Connector Road, Union Plymouth Road, Tobago, and also of St Michael Village, Las Cuevas, was among 50 individuals detained under ministerial preventive detention orders during the state of emergency, which was declared on December 30, 2024.

He was detained under a ministerial preventive detention order on January 31, 2025, signed by then national security minister Marvin Gonzales. A subsequent order was made for his detention at the Remand Prison in Golden Grove, Arouca, on April 5, 2025. That state of emergency ended on April 13. Benito was later reportedly detained by Venezuelan authorities and is currently awaiting the opportunity to clear his name there.

Edwards and Sorais were both detained under preventive detention orders signed by Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander on October 26, 2025. They were alleged to be members of the Rasta City/Seven Gang and to have conspired to murder a police officer and members of a rival gang.