Attorney-at-Law, George Prime scores another major victory in the ongoing criminal assizes at the Grenada Supreme Court, one of three Vincentians charged in connection with the 2019-multimillion-dollar drug bust walks free.
Jurors at the Number One Supreme Court on Wednesday returned a verdict of not guilty on two of the three counts for which the accused man Elvis Chance was initially charged, with possession of a controlled drug and trafficking a controlled drug.
Chance who was also facing a charge of conspiracy to traffic in a controlled drug. was charged jointly with Ian White and Alrick Reynold following a major drug bust affected by the Rapid Response Unit in collaboration with the Drug Squad in the south of the island sometime in August of 2019. The police, acting on information received, intercepted Mr. Chance’s vehicle and a RAV4 driven by Mr. Reynolds and Mr. White in the vicinity of the Old Skool Pub. No illicit substances were found on Mr. Chance’s person or his vehicle. Approximately four million EC dollars’ worth of cocaine was found in the vehicle driven/ occupied by Mr. White and Mr. Reynolds.
In 2020, the prosecution severed the indictment, charging Elvis Chance by himself and the other co-accused jointly. The former co-accused became state witnesses whereby they sought to implicate Mr. Chance as the ringleader.
Mr. Chance’s trial began on Monday 27th June, 2022 with Mr. George Prime representing the accused and Ms. Crisan Greenidge and Mr. Joseph representing the office of the Director of Public Prosecution. At the close of the prosecution’s case, counsel for the defense argued that there was no case for the defendant to answer. Her Ladyship Madam Justice Victoria Charles-Clarke accepted Counsel’s submission in relation to Count 3 only: conspiracy to traffic in a controlled drug and as such, this charge was withdrawn.
The trial proceeded in relation to counts 1 and 2.
Trial ended on Wednesday 13th July 2022 whereupon the jury returned a unanimous verdict of “not guilty” on count one and “not guilty” on count 2. Elvis Chance has been exonerated.
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