By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A JUDGE has delayed, by two days, his decision on whether the indictment against a man accused of setting fire to a dormitory at the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Sciences Institute should be squashed.

Dave Dion Moxey, his lawyer Calvin Seymour and Crown prosecutor Linda Evans appeared before Justice Bernard Turner yesterday for his ruling on arguments over Mr Seymour’s submission that his client’s voluntary bill of indictment (VBI) contained nothing that connected him to the January 15 blaze.

The fire destroyed the dormitory.

While the judge said he had reached a decision, he wanted it to be in writing.

As a result, he adjourned the hearing to Friday at 10am.

A month after the blaze, Moxey was arraigned in Magistrate’s Court in connection with the incident.

It was in May, during a bail hearing, that an issue arose concerning witness statements.

At the time, Ms Evans said that there were two statements that were part of the original indictment. However, neither Mr Seymour nor the court were aware of the statements.

At a hearing two weeks ago, Mr Seymour asked the judge to squash the indictment on the basis that it was not appropriate to produce the statements at this stage to attach to the original VBI, for which Moxey is facing trial in the Supreme Court.

The judge asked Ms Evans if the situation could be remedied without squashing the VBI if he did not agree with her submission that this was an instance where presumption of regularity could be applied.

Ms Evans submitted that this was possible through section 166 of the Criminal Procedure Code where there is a legal provision for the Crown to apply for leave to produce an additional witness.

The other remedy, she said, was that the court could squash the VBI and return the matter back to the Magistrates’ Court.