By Barbara Gayle, Staff ReporterST. ANN businessman Norris Nembhard, also called 'Deedo', one of two Jamaicans named 'Drug Kingpins' by United States President George Bush, was denied bail yesterday by the Supreme Court.
Nembhard, a trucking company operator of Runaway Bay, St. Ann, is wanted in the U.S. on drug charges. He has been indicted in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The indictment charges him with "conspiracy to distribute a quantity of a mixture of substances containing cocaine and marijuana, knowing or intending that such substances would be unlawfully imported into the United States or its waters." He was arrested on April 21 and has since been in custody at the Horizon Remand Centre awaiting an extradition hearing.
When Senior Resident Magistrate Martin Gayle denied Nembhard bail last month on the grounds that he was a flight risk, the RM had given the U.S. authorities until June 23 to present the supporting documents. If the documents were not sent by that time, then the 60-day period for which Nembhard could be held under the Extradition Treaty without the supporting documents would have expired and he would have to be released.
IN NEED OF MEDICAL CARE
Attorneys-at-law Frank Phipps, Q.C., and Wentworth Charles applied to the Supreme Court for bail on the grounds that there was no matter of urgency for provisional warrants to be issued against Nembhard because the supporting documents were, so far, not sent from the U.S. Nembhard gave an affidavit that he was diabetic, suffering from hypertension, had recently undergone surgery to his shoulder, was in need of medical care and, therefore, denied that he was a flight risk.
Mr. Justice Patrick Brooks heard submissions in chambers last week and reserved his ruling until yesterday. In turning down the bail application, he said that in the absence of the supporting documents from the U.S., the Resident Magistrate could properly take into account the nature of the proceedings in considering that there were substantial grounds for believing that Nembhard would fail to surrender to custody.
The judge said that the Resident Magistrate had set June 23 as the date for the authenticated documents to be provided by the requesting state, failing which Nembhard's detention would remain unlawful under the Extradition Treaty.
NO EVIDENCE
The judge found that "there was no evidence, unique to his case, to support the assertion before the learned Resident Magistrate that Mr. Nembhard would flee if granted bail and/or the claim of the seriousness of the allegations."
Justice Brooks further ruled that "the nature of this type of proceeding in itself, along with the nature of the charges and the penalty on conviction, can, however, be sufficient for the learned Resident Magistrate to find that Nembhard may fail to surrender to custody if granted bail."
The judge also upheld submissions by Crown Counsel Gail Walters that the medication that Nembhard needs can be administered to him at the remand centre.
