A Magistrate will continue hearing evidence this morning against a Police officer charged with desertion after ruling the Crown had shown sufficient cause to believe the man did not intend to return to the Island.

In the “no case to answer” phase of the trial, Lawyer Delroy Duncan submitted that the Crown had not shown that his client, officer Rickie Marcus Joseph, committed the offence of deserting the Bermuda Police Service as opposed to being absent without leave, which is not a criminal offence.

Mr. Duncan further said prosecutors had not shown that Joseph deserted the Service and that the St. Lucian officer had intended to return to Bermuda.

Joseph, 31, who was living at the Police Barracks in Prospect, Devonshire, is charged with deserting the Bermuda Police on July 3, when he was caught attempting to board a plane for New York.

“The defence submits that in order for there to be a distinction between being absent without leave and desertion, there must be both evidence of being permanently absent from the jurisdiction and the intention to be permanently absent from the jurisdiction,” said Mr. Duncan.

“If the crown can't establish these ingredients then one is falling into category of being absent without leave, which is not an offence,” he said, adding that absence without leave is only subject to internal Police disciplinary action.

Mr. Duncan said that the evidence presented by the Crown had not confirmed that Joseph had intended to leave the island permanently, nor that he had actually left.

Joseph had been serving in the St. George's division of the Police force, but had failed to show up for duty in the days leading up to his July 3 arrest.

The court earlier heard evidence from Sgt. Terrance Maxwell, who told the court that he gave Joseph's name to the airport authorities to insure he did not leave the island.

“I arranged for travel control at the airport to keep a look out for Joseph in case he decided to leave,” said Sgt. Maxwell, who had forced the door to Joseph's apartment the night before, when the officer failed to answer his telephone and repeated knocking at his door.

Sgt. Maxwell arrested Joseph the next day when he was stopped at the airport attempting to board a flight for New York.

Under cross examination, Sgt. Maxwell admitted that Joseph filed an assault complaint against Insp. Calvin Smith who, Joseph alleges, shoved him in the chest when Joseph asked to speak to a lawyer.

Sgt. Maxwell, also confirmed that Joseph was strip searched at the Hamilton police station.

Mr. Duncan pointed out that Joseph had bought a round-trip ticket, as opposed to a cheaper one way ticket, indicating an intention to return. Additionally, Mr. Duncan added, Joseph had actually booked to return to the island in early July.

“Are you saying if he had left the island he would have been deserting,” Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner asked Mr. Duncan.

“No not without the intention of remaining overseas,” Mr. Duncan replied.

“So even if he had left there would still need to be evidence that he left without the intention of returning?” Mr. Warner said, to which Mr. Duncan agreed.

But Mr. Warner ruled there was a case against Joseph, considering the evidence which Director of Public Prosecutions Vinette Graham Allen and Crown counsel Shakira Dill presented for the Crown.