By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

lmunnings@tribunmedia.net

THE Court of Appeal has quashed the conviction and set aside the sentence of Dillon Ethan Jordan, the 28-year-old Abaco man who was previously found guilty of violating bail conditions while awaiting trial for the murder of Bahamian Olympian Shavez Hart.

In a judgment, the court found that Jordan’s guilty plea in the bail violation matter was equivocal and that the presiding magistrate improperly relied on his own investigation rather than on evidence presented during the trial.

The justices ruled that Jordan was not afforded a fair hearing and that his two-year sentence for breaching bail conditions was excessive. They ordered that no retrial take place, noting that Jordan had already served nearly a a year in custody on the charge.

“It is quite clear that it was an equivocal plea. Thus, what should have transpired is that the magistrate should have ensured that a trial took place in the matter, as opposed to accepting the guilty plea,”  the judgment said. 

The court was also troubled by the magistrate’s conduct in the case.

“The court relied on its own investigation of speaking to the police officers in Cooper’s Town, Abaco, clearly indicated that he relied on information that he personally obtained that was not given as part of the evidence before the court,” the justices noted. 

“It is clearly improper for the magistrate to rely on evidence that was not before the court to form a part of his basis for a conviction.”

On the sentence, the court said: "However, in looking at the sentence, the magistrate for this offence sentenced the appellant to two years which, in our view, is excessive."

The justices therefore quashed the conviction, set aside the sentence, and declined to order a retrial, noting that Jordan had already served about a year in custody. 

Jordan was initially charged with Hart’s murder in September 2022. He was accused of intentionally causing Hart’s death by unlawful harm on 3 September 2022 at Mount Hope, Abaco.

During his murder arraignment before Deputy Chief Magistrate Debbye Ferguson in Grand Bahama, Jordan appeared without legal counsel. 

He was not required to enter a plea, and the case was adjourned to 25 January 2023 for a preliminary inquiry.