Entertainer freed of fraud charges

HORACE TAYLOR, the 52-year-old entertainer who was arrested and charged with obtaining credit by fraud has been freed of the charge. He was arrested as he left the stage after performing at last year's Popular Song Contest at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre.

Resident Magistrate Martin Gayle, in freeing Taylor, upheld submissions made by attorney-at-law Don O. Foote that it was a civil case and Taylor should not have been charged.

Taylor was a finalist in the competition with his popular song 'Keep the Fire Burning.' He said he would have been the Festival Song winner if he were not arrested and therefore had to perform the second time under stress.

The Crown alleged at the trial in the Corporate Area Criminal Court that, in 1998, he took a number of motivational books valued at $60,000 from Marcia Gilles. He paid her only a part of the money and when she went to him for payment, he gave her excuses. Eventualy Taylor gave Gilles a cheque for $10,000 which was dishonoured by the bank.

Gilles said she did not see Taylor again for two years until she saw him in an advertisement on television for a show on July 16 last year at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre. She made a report to the police and Detective Sgt. Quincy Sterling went to the song competition and arrested Taylor. Attorney-at-law Don Foote who was a patron at the show, persuaded the police to allow Taylor to complete his performance.

Taylor took some of the books to court. He explained that he took the books on consignment and they were not sold off. He told Gilles that things did not work out as planned and he would give her some money and the books that were not sold. She said she was not taking back the books.

Under cross-examination by Mr. Foote, the complainant admitted that Taylor wanted to return the unsold books but she refused to take them because it was an "out and out" sale to Taylor. She said that Taylor would be able to make a profit at the prices which she sold him the books. She admitted that before Taylor was arrested, she had taken out a civil suit against him.

Mr. Foote submitted to the Resident Magistrate that Taylor was charged under section 36 of the Larceny Act. He said the section stated that there must be an intention to deprive a person permanently of the property alleged to have been stolen. He said Taylor had no such intention because he was offering to return the books to the complainant. Mr. Foote submitted that it was a civil case and not a criminal case. He said the complainant had Taylor arrested just to embarrass him and have him locked up over a weekend.

After Taylor was freed he described the charge as " trumped up". He said his constitutional rights were "breached and abused" because he was locked up over the weekend.

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