Wanted man caught: Two guilty of illegal entry
Brothers-in-law Chevon Russell (left) and Jack Gordon Benjamin.
Two men who were taken into police custody last week for illegal entry were further remanded after pleading guilty in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday, January 30.
They are brothers-in-law Chevon Russell (36) and 25-year-old Jack Gordon Benjamin who is a Guyanese native.
The court heard that Russell, who is Jamaican with BVI Belonger status, was wanted by police for an unrelated matter. A ‘wanted person’ poster bearing his image was shown to the court.
The unrelated matter, however, was not openly specified.
Defence attorney Valerie Stephens-Gordon, who is representing the brothers-in-law, told the court that Russell has not been charged in relation to the unrelated matter for which he was wanted.
As it relates to the illegal entry offence, the defence attorney stated that Russell is claiming to be more culpable than his co-accused Benjamin.
The court heard that Russell – who has an estranged wife living in the BVI – invited his brother-in-law to illegally enter the territory to ‘see the place’.
The defence attorney asked Senior Magistrate Tamia Richards to consider a non-custodial sentence for her clients.
WHAT HAPPENED
The prosecution, in the meantime, claimed that between January 24 and 25 the two men who reside in St Martin departed that country via boat.
They entered the BVI via Virgin Gorda without reporting to immigration officials.
The court heard that, about 9am on January 26, police visited Waterfront Drive in Road Town where they saw both men exiting a Speedy’s ferry.
They were arrested.
Checks revealed that their passports had no BVI Immigration stamp or record of their arrival into the territory.
During individual police interviews, both men admitted to the offence of illegal entry. They were subsequently charged.
The men are scheduled to return to court on February 21 when they will be sentenced.
Meanwhile, police are said to be continuing a major investigation into what is said to be a high-profile case in which one of the accused may be a suspect.
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