St Catherine man freed of extortion charges
Published:Thursday | December 17, 2020 | 12:08 AMRasbert Turner/Gleaner Writer
A St Catherine man was freed of three counts of extortion in the Westmoreland Parish Court on December 10, after clearing an identification parade.
The accused is Almond Burke, 30, a labourer of Eltham Park in Spanish Town, St Catherine.
When the case was heard recently before Parish Judge Steve Walters, the matter was dismissed.
The submission by attorney-at-law Sheldon Campbell, claiming that the complainants failed to properly identify Burke, who was wearing a mask and cap, was upheld.
The Crown conceded that it could not mount a sound case.
Allegations are that about 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 2, 2020, a man approached three ganja farmers at Bottom Ground in Beeston Spring, Westmoreland.
The man reportedly revealed that he was part of a ganja eradication team and would be destroying their marijuana crop.
He reportedly demanded and received payments totalling $50,000 in order for him not to cut the ganja.
The men subsequently reported the matter to the authorities. Later, a vehicle fitting the description of the one in which the accused was travelling was intercepted in Porus, Manchester.
Burke was taken into custody.
An investigation was launched and he was charged with three counts of extortion.