First man in court over dispersal law
A White Hill Lane man appeared in court yesterday after allegedly refusing to leave the junction of Woodlawn Road and Middle Road.Vernon Symonds, 36, pleaded not guilty to a charge of refusing to comply to an order, given under Section 110 of the Criminal Code, to disperse from the Woodlawn Road area on September 13.The Sandys resident also denied using offensive language on the same date.The charge is the first connected to Section 110 of the Criminal Code, which gives police greater powers to disperse groups within a set area and time period.The order in the White Hill area came into effect on September 8 and will remain in effect until September 21, and covers the area from Spring Benny Road and Farmstead Lane in Sandys.The maximum penalty for those who refuse to comply with the order is a fine of $2,500 and/or a three-month period of imprisonment.Magistrates’ Court head that Police approached Mr Symonds at the junction of Middle Road and Woodlawn Road on three occasions on Thursday, but he repeatedly refused to leave.After his first warning, Mr Symonds allegedly told officers: “I’m in charge here. I’m not breaking any law. The police law is the law of the devil and the police are devils.”When police returned, he attempted to tell the officers that the area was not included in the order.On the third occasion, he allegedly repeatedly cursed at the officers, leading to the second charge.However lawyer Marc Daniels, representing Mr Symonds, noted that the defendant lives within the area covered by the order — and just three streets from where he was arrested.Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner remanded Mr Symonds into custody until September 19, when the matter will return to court for trial.Leaving court, Mr Symonds said: “Man, f*** this court.”