By FRANCIS JOSEPH
A man convicted of murder six years ago, lost his application to appeal before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
Mekeal Antoine, alias Sponge Bob, was seeking permission to appeal.
So what were the issues?
Questions (1) Whether felony murder and robbery ought both to have been left to the jury at Antoine’s trial.
(2) Whether the trial judge’s directions to the jury regarding the identification evidence were sufficient.
The application came up before Lord Sales, Lord Burrows, and Lady Simler on October 29. The decision – “Permission to appeal be refused on the ground that it is not arguable that there has been a serious miscarriage of justice.”
Antoine was sentenced to death by Madame Justice Carla Brown-Antoine on March 2, 2020. His appeal was dismissed on July 28, 2024 before Justices Mark Mohammed, Maria Wilson, and Ronnie Boodoosingh, now Chief Justice. Justice Wilson wrote the judgment.
PROSECUTION’S CASE
On Friday May 14, 2010 before 11 p.m, Brent Samuel was liming with Nigel Caesar and others at Mc Kai Lands, off Belmont Valley Road, when a white car pulled up on Belmont Valley Road near to a bar known as the Christmas Bar. Around that time, Larry Dennie, who lived in Belmont, was walking up Belmont Valley Road, heading towards the Christmas Bar to buy a phone card when he observed a vehicle and saw three men come out of that vehicle.
Dennie observed that the three men had guns and wore bulletproof vests. When the front seat passenger of that car was leaving that car, Dennie was walking by. Dennie stopped to permit him to exit the car and that man collared him and ordered him to hand over his gold chain, while pointing a firearm at him.
Dennie complied with his order. The other two men, who were in the back seat of that vehicle alighted from it and walked towards Mc Kai Lands with their firearms pointed. The man who had robbed Dennie also walked towards Mc Kai Lands, in the same direction as the two other men. At Mc Kai Lands corner, one man appeared in front of Caesar, who was liming with Samuel.
That man fired a shot at Caesar. The shot missed Caesar who ran off. Before running off, Caesar observed two other men coming from Belmont Valley Road, one behind the other and that at least one of them had a firearm. While running away Caesar heard more shots and observed that he had sustained a gunshot injury on his foot. After the man robbed Dennie, Dennie jumped into a drain and made his way towards his home. He too continued to hear gunshots whilst going home.
Ian Christmas, the owner of the Christmas Bar, observed a car pull up and saw three men dressed in bulletproof vests exiting that vehicle. He saw the men go towards Mc Kai Lands and he heard gunshots coming from that direction. The men returned to the car and the car went towards Port of Spain.
Dennie recognized the man who had robbed him from liming with him at a place called ‘Nine-Storey’ some years before. He did not know him by name but related the incident to his best friend, Riley, who told him that the nickname of the man who robbed him was ‘Sponge Bob’.
Dennie attended an Identification parade on July 20, 2010 and he positively identified Antoine as the man who had robbed him on the night of May 14, 2010. The police visited the scene in the early morning hours of May 15, 2010, collected evidence, and took photographs.
They recovered several spent shell casings, shotgun waddings, shotgun cartridges, and bullets from the scene and submitted these items for analysis. The post mortem report revealed that the pathologist observed four shotgun entry wounds on the body of Samuel and injuries to the main organs of his body including to the heart, lungs and small intestine.
The pathologist found the cause of death to be multiple shotgun injuries to the body of the deceased. The State did not lead any direct evidence on which of the three men shot the deceased. Their case was based on circumstantial evidence and that Antoine and the other men acted together to bring about the death of Samuel during the course of a joint enterprise.
Antoine was either the principal or one of the principals or an accessory to the murder of Samuel. In that capacity he, at the very least, assisted and/or encouraged the others to cause at least grievous bodily harm to Samuel.
THE DEFENCE
Antoine did not testify or call witnesses. His case, as gleaned from cross-examination, was that of a denial of the offence; that he was not present at the scene of the crime on the night of May 14, 2010 and that the main witness, Dennie, was either lying or mistaken when he identified him as one of the perpetrators of the murder of Samuel.
Antoine advanced four grounds of appeal which were rejected.
Ground 1 – A material irregularity occurred during the course of the trial when the Learned Trial Judge failed and/or neglected and/or refused to leave to the jury the issue of death arising and/or occurring during the course of the commission of a violent arrestable offence (felony murder)
Ground 2 – Hearsay Evidence/Identification Directions A material irregularity occurred during the course of the trial when the Learned Trial Judge permitted the main witness for the prosecution (Larry Dennie) to give evidence, which was plainly and palpably inadmissible hearsay evidence.
Ground 3 – Joint Enterprise: A material irregularity occurred during the course of the trial when Her Ladyship gave directions to the jury which were erroneous in fact and principle on the issue of joint enterprise.
Ground 4 – A material irregularity occurred in the course of the trial when the Learned Trial Judge allowed the bad character evidence of the Appellant’s previous conviction for possession of a firearm and failed to give a balanced and proportionate direction to deal with it.
