Former Police officer on child porn charges
A former police constable denied 14 charges of viewing child pornography and one charge of making it when he appeared at Supreme Court.The man, who was a probationary officer but has since been fired, cannot be identified for legal reasons.He's alleged to have accessed dozens of videos showing children engaged in explicit sexual activity, and also accessed pictures and made child pornography.The 43-year-old, from Warwick, is due to stand trial on June 27 and is represented by lawyer Elizabeth Christopher.Chief Justice Richard Ground bailed him until then.Also appearing during the monthly arraignments session at Supreme Court was Canadian national Janet Grant, who admitted importing $1.7 million worth of heroin and cocaine into Bermuda on October 1 2010.Grant, 47, of Scarborough, Ontario, was arrested after she arrived on a WestJet flight from Toronto and the drugs were found in her hand luggage at L F Wade International Airport.She faced further charges of importing cannabis, and possessing heroin and cocaine with intent to supply, which she denied. Prosecutor Carrington Mahoney accepted the not guilty pleas and asked that those charges lie on file.Mr Justice Ground ordered pre-sentence reports, and Grant must return to court on March 1 for her sentence date to be fixed. She was remanded into custody until then.In a separate drugs case, two men denied allegations of involvement in an $860,000 heroin importation plot. Kendrick Zuill, 33, of Deepdale Road East, Pembroke, and Paul Smith, 51, of East Shore Road, Sandys, are alleged to have conspired together and with others not before the courts to bring the drugs to Bermuda.An earlier hearing at Magistrates Court heard the case centres around the “controlled delivery” of a DHL package that contained the heroin before it was intercepted by the authorities. The conspiracy is said to have been hatched between a date unknown and April 26 this year.The Chief Justice bailed the pair until their trial date on July 4.In another case, two men accused of a gun murder entered not guilty pleas. Ronniko Burchall and Leroy Symons are accused of shooting Shane Minors dead on December 17 2009.Mr Minors, 30, was found dead outside his home on Friswell's Hill, Pembroke.When the pair first appeared at the monthly arraignment session in December, Ronniko Burchall, 22, of North Street, Pembroke, refused to speak when asked to enter his plea to murder. He remained mute when a further charge of using a firearm to commit the killing was put to him.Leroy Symons, 20, from Spice Hill Road, Warwick, pleaded not guilty to murder. Yesterday, however, the charges were put to the pair again and they both entered not guilty pleas. Their trial is due to begin on June 13.Also appearing at arraignments was Winslow “Scaley” Williams, who was attacked by angry residents of the Loyal Hill neighbourhood in Devonshire on November 4 amid accusations of theft.Mr Williams, 43, of no fixed abode, was found by police officers unconscious on Foothills Road, Devonshire.Yesterday, he pleaded not guilty to prowling around a house in Loyal Hill Pass and prowling around another house in Northridge Crescent. He was remanded into custody until his trial on March 21.Gregory Wainwright, 33, from Middletown Road, Pembroke, denied a charge of wounding Damio Crockwell, 26, with intent to do him grievous bodily harm. No further information was given about the alleged incident on November 1 and Mr Wainwright was bailed until his trial on April 11.Four men pleaded not guilty to an aggravated burglary in Dunscombe Road, Warwick on July 31 2010.Kentwoine Jones, Donahue Sousa, Aaron Liverpool all aged 20 and Kyle Tavares, 24, are alleged to have been armed with a knife and a ball attached to a length of rope when they stole two wallets containing $1,200 from the home.Jones, of Ord Valley Lane, Warwick, Sousa, of Curving Avenue, Pembroke, Liverpool of West Street, St George, and Tavares of Fairylands, Pembroke, will stand trial on June 6.