By ANDRE BAGOO Saturday, January 26 2008

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Ceasar Pereira ...

THE STATE yesterday dropped a charge against one of the Venezuelans accused in the $700million Monos Island drug trial, one day after another accused in the matter was discharged.

But unlike Antiguan Ramon Jarvis, who was discharged in the Port-of-Spain Second Criminal Court on Thursday, Venezuelan Ceasar Pereira will not be going free.

Yesterday the State, led by Roger Gaspard, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, made an application to amend the charges in the case because of evidence that came to light when the State’s main witness, Bruno Lawrence, took the stand.

Lawrence, the caretaker of the house at Monos Island where the drug-bust was made, told the court this week that on August 22, 2005, he saw two “Spanish-looking” men. In court, he identified these men, whom he described as “the chubby one” and “the bald headed one with the green eyes” as Darwin Gonzalez and Freddie Garcia. However, the indictment in the case alleged that on August 22, it was Ceasar Pereira and Darwin Gonzalez at the house on Monos Island who were found in possession of dangerous drugs. As such, presiding Judge, Madame Justic Aelice Yorke Soo-Hon directed the jury to return a not guilty verdict against Pereira on the August 22 count of possession and substituted Garcia’s name into the charge.

“In these circumstances the indictment has been amended to meet the evidence,” Yorke Soo-Hon told the jury, who promptly returned a verdict of not guilty.

The trial judge reminded the jurors that Pereira will not be going free given the other charges, including another possession charge, this time for August 23 as opposed to August 22, that remains standing against him. Additionally, like all of the other accused, he has arms and ammunition charges against him.

So that by yesterday the situation in the case boiled down to this: six persons remain charged with being in possession of a dangerous drug namely cocaine, as well as possession of arms and ammunition. One of two possession charges against Pereira was dropped, but he still faces all others. A possession charge was added to Garcia’s list of offences.

The conspiracy charge against the accused was dropped on Thursday. On trial are locals Victor Sylvester, and Shaheed Ali, as well as Venezuelans Alonszo Valera, Ceasar Pereira, Freddie Garcia and Darwin Gonzalez.

The matter is expected to continue on Monday with the beginning of cross-examination of Lawrence. Defence attorneys yesterday were directed to “put their house in order” before cross- examination.