$14.6m for 3 years of ‘hell on Earth’

A man who spent three years in custody, facing charges for murder and robbery before the prosecution offered no evidence against him in December 2017, has won a Supreme Court award of $14. 6 million with interest against the Government.

Charles Montique, 44, a caretaker and farmer, was awarded $6.8 million for false imprisonment and $7.4 million for malicious prosecution which includes aggravated damages. He was also awarded special damages of $450,000 with interest.

Justice Andrea Thomas handed down the award last month and ruled that the conduct of the two police officers were definitely without probable cause and could be described as extremely inefficient and definitely unacceptable. However, the judge, in refusing to grant an award for exemplary damages, said she did not find that they were so egregiously oppressive or arbitrary and high-handed to the point that warranted an additional award.

“In essence, it is my view that the amount awarded for aggravated damage, which is included in the award for malicious prosecution, is sufficient compensation,” the judge ruled.

Defendants were Constable Audrey Smith, the Attorney General and Detective Constable Tashana Hinds.

“I express real sadness that the police arrested an innocent man who spent three long years in prison based on careless and reckless police conduct because they failed to act on the information given to them by the witnesses as to the true and correct identification of the gunman,” senior attorney-at-law Anthony Williams, of the law firm Usim, Williams and Company, said yesterday.

Williams, who represented Montique both in the criminal and civil courts, emphasised that the witnesses said the gunman was a very tall man, about six feet three inches. He pointed out that his client was only five feet eight inches tall.

“What is even more egregious is that Montique was arrested at his birthday party in the presence of friends and well-wishers,” Williams said.

“If there was ever hell on Earth, this must have been it minus the physical fire,” is how Montique described his 10 months in custody at the Gun Court lockup at South Camp Road. He spoke of faeces on the concrete floor on which he had to sleep and rodents invading the cell.

Pointed out by alleged witness

Montique was arrested on December 31, 2014 while celebrating his 35th birthday with friends. He was accused of the murder of Winston Brown, who was killed on October 1, 2014, in the Nightingale community in Old Harbour, St Catherine. He was placed on an identification parade on January 14, 2015. He was pointed out by an alleged witness in connection with the murder and robbery with aggravation in relation to the alleged witness as well as illegal possession of firearm and illegal possession of ammunition.

The charges were dismissed after his attorney, Williams, argued that Montique’s case was one of mistaken identity. The prosecution then offered no evidence against Montique.

He then filed a suit seeking damages and outlined how he felt very humiliated, embarrassed, nervous, depressed and bewildered because he was innocent of any wrongdoing. He bemoaned the fact that he was kept in custody for three years without bail. Montique, who spent the time in about four different police lockups between St Catherine and St Andrew, described how the cells were unsanitary.

Montique said he became very ill because of the conditions at the Old Harbour Police Station lockup in St Catherine and had to be rushed to hospital on multiple occasions where he received medication and was placed on a strict diet but was not provided with the required foods.

He spent two years at the Hundred Man Police Station lockup (Greater Portmore Police Station) and said he was held in a humid, unsanitary, unventilated, pungent cell. He was later transferred to the lockup at South Camp Road where he said he spent 10 months in terrible conditions. He was next sent to the Horizon Remand Centre where he said he developed serious stomach and dental issues.

Montique stated that his inability to be with his spouse and children caused him to suffer from periods of anxiety, depression, mental anguish and feelings of loneliness. He said his girlfriend was pregnant when he was arrested and, because of the stress she had to endure because of his incarceration, she lost their baby daughter who was stillborn.

There was no award for breach of his constitutional right as the judge held that, despite the fact that the conditions in which he was held were deplorable, she found that he was adequately compensated by the award for false imprisonment and aggravated damages. The judge said she did not find that the behaviour of the defendants, Hinds and Smith, or any other state agent, towards Montique could be adequately described as a deplorable use of power, or even appalling so as to engender public outrage.

“As such, I find that there is no need for this court to award constitutional damages,” the judge ruled.

The defendants were represented by attorney-at-law Kristina Whyte, instructed by the director of state proceedings.

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