THE US judge overseeing the case of Bahamian drug trafficker Jonathan Eric Gardiner has granted prosecutor’s request for a one day delay for a pre-trial conference. 

This means Gardiner will now appear in court tomorrow instead of today.Assistant US Attorney Jonathan Bodansky made the request to allow pretrial services an extra day to interview Gardiner in the presence of defense counsel.

Mr Bodansky said the delay would also allow the preparation of a “potential bail application.”

In an order filed yesterday, US District Judge Gregory Woods said: “The Court finds that the ends of justice served by granting a continuance outweigh the best interests of the public and the defendant in a speedy trial because failure to grant the continuance would deny the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation.”

Gardiner was charged in New York last week with cocaine importation conspiracy and firearms-related charges after prosecutors alleged that he was a key figure in a drug trafficking plot. 

However, he has denied the allegations. The charges stem from his arrest last month following a plane crash on Election Day. He was among 11 Bahamians rescued by US authorities after an aircraft travelling from Marsh Harbour, Abaco, to Grand Bahama crashed off the Florida coast.