Cop charged in Buju’s killing offered $1m bail

WESTERN BUREAU:
A call is being made for people to refrain from prematurely trying the case against Police Constable Andrew Wilson, who is charged with murder in the controversial May 17 shooting death of Latoya ‘Buju’ Bulgin, in the court of public opinion.
King’s Counsel Peter Champagnie, who is representing the lawman, made the appeal in an interview with The Gleaner following his successful bail application for Wilson, who made his first appearance in the St James Circuit Court before High Court Justice Andrea Pettigrew-Collins yesterday.
Wilson is accused of fatally shooting Bulgin while she was seated behind the steering wheel of her black Toyota Voxy motor vehicle, which she was using to transport residents to a protest in Granville Square. The demonstration was staged in response to the killing of her 17-year-old cousin in a separate incident involving the police. 
“Myself and Mr Michael Hemmings, who appear for Mr Wilson, appreciate the fact that this is a matter that has generated much public attention, and of course information and transparency are important. But at the same time, what I will caution is that the matter is now before the circuit court, and the matter should be tried in that court, and not in the court of public opinion,” said Champagnie.
In the aftermath of Bulgin’s killing, during which her body was subsequently tossed in the back of a police service vehicle, there was widespread condemnation of the incident, which was captured on CCTV. Residents of Granville staged fiery protests, while several interest groups, including the People’s National Party Women’s Movement and the Watchmen Church Leaders Alliance, also issued statements expressing concern.
“The matter has been transferred from the parish court to the circuit court, and the law allows for that to happen. It results in a situation where there is no committal hearing, so it is now directly in the circuit court,” said Champagnie, referring to the transfer of Wilson’s case from the St James Parish Court by way of a voluntary bill of indictment.
A nolle prosequi was issued to discontinue the proceedings in the parish court, eliminating the need for a formal committal hearing before the matter was transferred to the circuit court.
During Monday’s hearing before Justice Pettigrew-Collins, it was disclosed that several documents remain outstanding from the prosecution’s case file. They include transcripts of an interview with Wilson, the post-mortem report and a biological certificate relating to blood deposits found at the scene of the incident.
It is also understood that the arresting officer’s statement, the forensic certificate and CCTV footage are on file, but have not yet been served on Wilson’s attorneys. Full disclosure of the prosecution’s available documents is expected to be made by or before August 7, ahead of the scheduled case management hearing on October 9.
Wilson was granted bail in the sum of $1 million with surety and specific reporting conditions. The bail conditions are similar to those previously imposed in the parish court.
“The next court date is going to be on October 9, and it is a case management hearing date, so it is not for trial,” said Champagnie.
“We anticipate that, by then, the defence will be in a position to disclose that they have received all the documentation involved in this matter.”
Speaking with The Gleaner after the hearing, Champagnie said the outstanding disclosure includes “some of them electronic, because this is a matter where part of it was captured electronically”.
christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com