Carapo man freed of 2023 Wallerfield murder

The Hall of Justice, Port of Spain. - File photo

A Carapo man charged with murder was discharged by the High Court after prosecutors repeatedly failed to file an indictment in connection with the May 22, 2023 killing of a man in Wallerfield.

Akeem “Copper” Simon, who was before Master Whitney Franklin, was charged with the murder of Fizam Hosein, whose body was found at Block 3 Moonan Road, Wallerfield, after police responded to reports of loud explosions. Hosein suffered gunshot wounds to his face, head and upper body.

Also discharged was Crystal Cindy Le Blanc of Wallerfield and Manzanilla, who had been jointly charged with Simon.

At a sufficiency hearing on December 12, Franklin declined to grant the prosecution any further extensions after what the court described as repeated noncompliance. The sufficiency hearing had initially been scheduled for November 27 after two earlier dates were vacated. On November 27, prosecutors applied for an extension on the morning of the hearing, prompting Franklin to allow the defence time to respond and to set December 12 for a ruling. By December 12, prosecutors acknowledged the case file remained incomplete and that no indictment had been filed. Franklin denied the application for an extension and discharged the accused under Section 5.9 of the Criminal Procedure Rules, citing repeated failures to comply with court orders. In her ruling, Franklin noted there was no indication when warrants obtained under the Interception of Communications Act would be unsealed or when outstanding CCTV footage would be made available.

Simon’s attorney, Roshan Tota Maharaj, had, from the onset, applied to have the matter transferred to a master as quickly as possible soon after the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act (AJIPA) was proclaimed in December 2023. He said the case should serve as a model for how the legislation could deliver speedy justice, arguing that ideally no more than one year should elapse from a murder charge to a case reaching a trial judge, if it progressed that far.

Prosecutors, in written submissions made in November, sought an extension of time and relief from sanctions, because of administrative and staffing difficulties at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. They said approximately five witness statements remained outstanding out of some 54 filed, including statements linked to intercepted communications that require court-ordered unsealing of warrants through the Strategic Services Agency.

The state also said statements exhibiting the post-mortem certificate and CCTV footage were outstanding. The application noted illness, staff reassignment and resignations within the DPP’s office as contributing to the delays. Prosecutors argued the delays were not deliberate and that an extension would not prejudice the accused, given the public interest in having the matter prosecuted.

However, Franklin rejected those arguments.

Although discharged on the murder charge, Simon remains in custody on separate charges of possession of firearms and ammunition. That matter is scheduled to come up for hearing in January.