Defendant was allowed to travel, but was to return to Grand Court on 7 September
Justice Carol Beswick ordered a warrant for the arrest of Arthur Screaton, 53, after he failed to appear in Grand Court on Friday morning.
Screaton, who pleaded not guilty in March to two charges of theft and two of false accounting, had his matters set for trial starting Monday, 17 September. Friday’s appearance was supposed to be for him to elect whether he wanted a jury trial or trial by judge alone, Defence Attorney John Furniss advised.
Mr. Furniss gave notice in March that he would be applying for a variation in bail to allow his client to travel because he had not seen his wife and child for some time. The application was adjourned for a week so that the Crown’s position could be ascertained.
When the Crown did not object, Justice Charles Quin granted permission to travel on condition that Screaton supply the court with his itinerary and post a surety of $10,000.
Screaton. a Canadian national, applied to travel to Denver, Colorado to join his family. Mr. Furniss noted at the time that his client had held his passport for some five months and had not attempted to leave the jurisdiction.
On Friday, Crown Counsel Michael Snape asked for a further seven days adjournment. He said he did not know if the Crown would pursue the matter in Screaton’s absence. He told the court he was loath to vacate the trial date because of ther backlog of trials.
Justice Beswick set the matter for mention on 14 September to see if the defendant had been arrested and the likelihood of his trial.
Screaton is charged with the theft of $4,132 and $6,723 from Rackam’s Bar and C-Blu Lounge between 1 October 2010 and 31 December 2010. The alleged false accounting was said to have taken place during the same period.
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