Monrovia – The case is set to resume soon but what seems unbelievable is that several pieces of evidence are missing from the file of former presidential guard Darlington George.
Report by Bettie K. Johnson-Mbayo/ [email protected]
According to unconfirmed reports, Criminal Court “B” at the Temple of Justice docketed the case but prosecution raised a red flag against the court on grounds that documents linking to the suspect were not in the file.
Previously, a motion to dismiss the charge of Aggravated Assault and Criminal Facilitation against him was placed on hold by the court following a request by his legal counsel who asked the court for more time.
In a 12-count resistance, the state said that George was indicted August term 2015 – “From the date the defendants were indicted, the court before which this matter lies has tried only capital offense cases such as Murder.”
In count 3 of the prosecution’s resistance, the prosecution argued that there were countless good causes that were extant and reasonable to have caused the delay in proceeding with the matter on its merits.
The state further stated that at no time did the defendants through their counsel pray for assignment and the state failed to proceed.
“There have been strong and vibrant good causes for this case not to have been proceeded within keeping with terms as alleged in movants motion to dismiss,” the prosecution argued.
On September 15, 2015, the former EPS Deputy Director was released of his post by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on grounds that he assaulted Ms. Varnester Maday Kiatamba.
The Executive Mansion said it “will not condone such an act of sheer indiscipline and total lack of morals on the part of any member of State security institutions especially the EPS, which has been subject to thorough psychological reform in order to give a human face to the public service they are entrusted to perform.”
Ms. Kiatamba explained that she was trying to settle a dispute between her friends who were fussing when Darlington George came very close to them with his vehicle, nearly hitting them.
“When she went to confront him about his offensive behavior, she said George began to use profane expressions at her and her friends, calling them “prostitutes”.
Eyewitnesses explained that Kiatamba returned a similar expletive concerning his mother, which infuriated the EPS Deputy who started “punching and kicking her… and ordered his bodyguard to hit her with a bottle in his hand.”
She explained that Darlington George boasted that he is Ellen’s son and “nothing would be done” to him for assaulting her.
As the trial resumes today, it is still unknown if the court would provide the missing pieces of evidence to continue the case.