DPP to withdraw entry violation charge against Haitian
Published:Wednesday | April 6, 2022 | 12:12 AM
Joseph Joel John, the former Haitian senator linked to the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, is to make his final appearance in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on April 21 when the illegal entry charge against him is to be officially abandoned.
When the case was mentioned on Tuesday, Senior Parish Judge Lori-Ann Cole Monague was informed that the director of public prosecutions (DPP) plans to enter a nolle prosequi on the next occasion to bring the matter to a close.
The illegal entry case involving John; his wife, Edume, 38; and their sons – Schopenhauer, 17, and a nine-year-old boy – was expected to have its final hearing on Tuesday.
But John, who is in custody awaiting extradition to the United States, was not brought before the court.
The judge also ordered that a writ be issued to the facility where he is being held for him to be taken to court on the next date.
Meanwhile, his three family members, who are awaiting a decision pertaining to a request for asylum here, were remanded.
On the last court appearance, an immigration officer had reported that the permanent secretary in the national security ministry is to make the decision but was currently off the island.
The Haitians were apprehended on January 14 during a police operation in Warminster district, St Elizabeth, and charged with illegal entry.
Joseph has accepted the extradition request from the US and is to depart shortly.
The 59-year-old is listed among five fugitives who are wanted in connection with the president’s assassination.
He is accused of renting four vehicles that were used by the Colombian assassins on the night of the deadly attack.
Moϊse was killed at his private residence overlooking the capital on July 7, 2021.
His wife, Martine Moϊse, was also shot in the incident but survived.
The other key suspect in his murder plot, ex-Colombian military officer Mario Antonio Palacios, was deported from Jamaica on January 3. But the 43-year-old was intercepted in Panama by US law enforcement agents and taken to Florida, where he was charged with various crimes related to Moïse’s assassination.
The former Colombian soldier pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States and providing material support resulting in death when he appeared in a federal court in Miami on Monday.