Monrovia – Presiding Judge of Criminal Court “C” has requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to prevail on the Embassy of the United States in Monrovia to turn over seven vehicles allegedly stolen from the U.S. to the court’s jurisdiction as they are subject to crimes.
Report by Bettie K. Johnson Mbayo, [email protected]
The court is hearing the case involving defendants Armstrong Tony Campbell, Sheak K. Brown and Kandakai Sherman of the Monrovia and Sheriff Lasudo, to be identified, believed to be residing in the Philadelphia, USA indicted for theft of property, economic sabotage, smuggling, criminal conspiracy and criminal facilitation in connection with the theft of the seven vehicles.
FrontPageAfrica gathered that the Embassy is skeptical about turning over the vehicles to Liberian authorities due to lack of confidence in the sector and justice sectors.
There has been an incidence where stolen cars released by the Embassy for investigation was found the hands of the suspected criminals who stole them from the United States.
However, the law requires that subject of crimes in criminal trials should be brought under the jurisdiction of the court during the trial.
Therefore, the lawyers representing the defendants requested the court to demand the prosecution to produce the vehicles.
But the prosecution, knowing that the vehicles are in the custody of the Embassy, prayed the court to subpoena the U.S. Embassy to cars.
However, Judge Kaba seeing the situation as a precarious one for the court rather elected to engage the Embassy through the Liberia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry.
“This Court in its wisdom decided that rather than issue a subpoena, a communication will be addressed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the clerk of this court informing the said ministry of the precarious situation this court finds itself in – the successful disposition of this matter in the absence of those vehicles being brought under the court’s jurisdiction.”
“The communication will request the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to exert its influence on the United States Embassy to have those vehicles brought under the jurisdiction of the court.
“The clerk is ordered to insert in the said communication that it will be the expectation of this court that those vehicles be reported to this court on or before Tuesday, July 4, 2017, so as to permit this honorable court to continue with the hearing of this matter.”