A man who is wanted for multiple murders in Jamaica, and arrested on suspicion of illegally landing in Cayman, was briefly released by police before being immediately re-arrested for minor drug offences for which he was not subsequently charged.
Prosecutors insist that the wanted man never left custody and was not put back on the streets of Cayman.
But questions were raised in Summary Court on Tuesday over how the incident was handled and why the drug charges against fugitive Rudolph Almando Shaw, 30, of Jamaica, ultimately were not pursued.
He was arrested on Friday 8 July after a brief midday chase during which he rammed a police vehicle with the car he was driving.
Shaw was initially arrested on suspicion of illegal landing and taken into custody at the detention centre in Fairbanks, George Town. Though he is wanted for murder in Jamaica, the charge against him in Cayman was initially an immigration offence.
At a court hearing Tuesday, Shaw’s attorney Prathna Bodden demanded answers over how her client had been kept in custody beyond the legal time limit for him to be charged or released.
“There is one of two things going on here,” she said. “Either the police messed up and didn’t charge him in time and therefore kept him in custody longer that they should have, or they released him on bail.”
Bodden told Chief Magistrate Valdis Foldats, who presided over the matter Tuesday, that the investigating officer and the sergeant on duty both confirmed that the custody time limit had expired and that Shaw had been released without being charged with any offence.
“On 11 July, police found themselves in the position that they had not charged Mr. Shaw, and no one could get in contact with the corresponding officer from [Customs and Border Control],” Bodden said. “So, they were faced with a potential Habeas Corpus (a wrongful imprisonment case) which left them with no choice but to release him.”
Bodden suggested that rather than risk putting a wanted killer back on the streets of Cayman, police had re-arrested him on a minor charge they did not intend to pursue.
“They couldn’t simply just let him go so they re-arrest him for minor drug charges… which the prosecution has since confirmed by email they will not be proceeding with,” she said.
According to section 65 of the Police Act (2021 Revision), a person who has been taken into custody is usually detained for a maximum of 48 hours without being officially charged with a crime. However, some specific guidelines and scenarios, will allow for a person to be kept in custody by police for up to 72 hours. That gave police until Monday evening, at the latest, to charge Shaw with illegal landing, the offence for which he was initially arrested and for which he appeared in court Tuesday.
“The police tried to use the system against him, but it has failed and backfired on them,” said Bodden. “This happens far too often. When police are unable to properly charge someone, they try to hold them on a lesser charge which often fails. Yes, this does impact the freedoms of the defendant but, more importantly, it poses a potential danger to the safety of the wider community.”
In response to Bodden’s statements, prosecutor Hema Soondarsingh confirmed that the initial arrest for illegal landing had reached its time limit, at which point he was released and then promptly re-arrested.
“The position is that he was never bailed,” said Soondarsingh. “The position is that upon the expiration of the initial arrest, he was released, but then re-arrested for the drug charges. So, at all times, he was in custody.”
When asked by Bodden what the difference was between being released and being bailed, Soondarsingh provided no response.
Foldats said the scenario was concerning.
“There is no doubt that the issues you have raised are serious and troubling, particularly to senior police and custody officers,” he said. “However, the task before this court today is a very narrow one, and those issues are outside the scope of the court’s attention.”
He added, “There needs to be a proper forum where these matters can be aired, and brought to the attention of the right people.”
Shaw was remanded in custody and is expected to return to court in the coming weeks.
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Suspect rams police car. Police unable to figure out charge? Does that about sum this up? Worrying about the illegal landing and the drugs possession charges misses the busted police cruiser in the room.