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July 29, 2010
Where is Patrick Roberts case file?
Surrender
Lawyers representing former People's National Party caretaker for West Central St. Andrew Patrick Roberts, are up in arms.
Senior counsel, Valerie Neita Robertson, complained on Wednesday, that months after Roberts' gun-related case was transferred from the Gun Court to the Half-Way-Tree Court, the case file cannot be located.
This led to a verbal clash between Neita-Robertson and senior magistrate, Judith Pusey.
The magistrate objected to the attorney bashing the court staff, and accusing them of being inefficient.
Roberts has been charged with breaching the Firearms Act, in the wake of an incident, in January.
The police reported that on January 20, they seized two illegal firearms from a man who engaged them in a shootout, on Dellamar Avenue, off Waltham Park Road.
One of the weapons, a .38 Taurus revolver, was traced, and found to be the property of Roberts.
On March 30, Roberts was interviewed by investigators, and he reported that he was just being made aware of the disappearance of the weapon.
He was subsequently charged with illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.
However, the Director of Public Prosecutions later withdrew the charge, and referred the matter to the RM Court, for the politician to answer to a lesser charge of losing his firearm through negligence.
Roberts is to return to court on September 7.