By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

THE Supreme Court has revoked the bail of Meshack Newton, ordering that he be remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services after finding he breached bail conditions and that his personal safety was at risk if released.

Justice Andrew Forbes delivered the ruling after hearing applications from both the Crown and Newton’s sureties. The judge also freed the sureties Antoinette Cartwright, Newton’s mother, and William Cash from their $9,900 bond obligations.

Newton was arrested in July 2016 and charged with armed robbery. He was granted bail in August 2019 before Justice Petra Hanna-Adderley, who required him to report to police twice weekly, avoid contact with Crown witnesses, and remain bound by sureties.

Concerns over Newton’s compliance arose in 2020 when Ms Cartwright told the court that her son had threatened her with a cutlass. She completed a formal request to be released as surety, but no hearing was held. In October 2024, the Crown filed for Newton’s bail to be revoked after he failed to attend case management and a bench warrant was issued.

Matters escalated when Newton was arrested by US authorities in September 2024 and charged with human smuggling. According to an affidavit sworn by Special Agent Scott Partin of the US Department of Homeland Security, Newton admitted during questioning that a “bounty” had been placed on him in The Bahamas because of missing guns and money. He told investigators he wanted to stay in the United States for his safety.

The Crown argued Newton was no longer a fit and proper person to remain on bail, pointing to his absconding and his arrest abroad. Prosecutors also sought forfeiture of the $9,900 bond.

In her affidavit, Ms Cartwright said she and her brother had acted in good faith when they attempted to withdraw as sureties in 2020 and were unaware that further steps were required. She urged the court not to penalise them, warning that forfeiture would be a “devastating financial setback”.

Justice Forbes sided with the sureties, ruling that because they had formally requested release years earlier, the failure lay in administrative delays, not their conduct. As such, the bond would not be forfeited.

Justice Forbes highlighted several appellate decisions affirming the Supreme Court’s power to revoke bail when conditions are breached or when an accused’s safety is at risk. Citing Riclaude Tassy v DPP and Bartholomew Pinder v The Queen, the judge emphasised that courts have inherent jurisdiction to revoke bail even where statutory provisions are not directly invoked.

He also noted the case of Lindsay Shriver & Terrence Bethel v DPP, where the Court of Appeal confirmed that a judge may weigh whether breaches of bail provide “substantial grounds for believing” that an accused will not appear for trial.

Justice Forbes further drew on Derwan Grant v DPP which established that a court may deny bail if an accused person’s life is at risk, since the Bail Act explicitly allows detention for an accused’s own protection.

“The Respondent indicated that there was a bounty placed on him as a result of missing or stolen guns and money,” Justice Forbes said. “To ensure the Respondent’s safety, his further remand is optimal.”

The court set Newton’s pre-trial review for October 2026 and his trial for May 2027. Justice Forbes invited Newton to consider making a fresh bail application should circumstances change.