By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Chief Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

JONATHAN Eric Gardiner, the convicted Bahamian drug trafficker, has opted to stand trial alongside his co-defendants on March 1, 2027, while seeking another 60 days to file pretrial motions.

The decision means Gardiner will not pursue an earlier trial date, resolving the issue that prompted a status conference scheduled for September 23.

In a September 21 filing, his attorney, Susy Ribero-Ayala, asked the court to adjourn that conference and extend the deadline for pretrial motions from October 2 to December 1.

It is Gardiner’s second request for more time to file pretrial motions. The original deadline was September 11 before the court granted an extension to October 2.

Mrs Ribero-Ayala said the September 23 conference was intended to determine whether Gardiner would stand trial with his co-defendants or seek an earlier date.

After consulting with counsel, Gardiner elected to proceed with the March 1 trial, she said.

Mrs Ribero-Ayala argued that the issue requiring the conference had therefore been resolved and asked the court to adjourn it if Gardiner’s decision could be accepted through the filing.

“Defendant recognises, however, that the court may wish to conduct the September 23 conference as scheduled, including to address Mr Gardiner directly concerning his election. Counsel and Mr Gardiner will therefore appear on September 23 unless otherwise directed by the court,” the filing said.

The defence is also seeking additional time to review discovery and the procedural history of the case, investigate the allegations against Gardiner, determine which pretrial motions are warranted and prepare its responses.

Mrs Ribero-Ayala said prosecutors agreed to another 30-day extension but opposed any further delay, arguing there was no valid basis for the additional time and that a later deadline could fall too close to the March trial.

She argued that the requested extension would serve the interests of justice by allowing the defence to continue reviewing discovery, investigating the allegations and preparing any necessary pretrial motions, outweighing the public’s interest in a speedy trial.

The filing comes more than a month after Gardiner was hit with a separate federal indictment in Georgia accusing him of supplying massive quantities of cocaine from The Bahamas to drug trafficking organisations in the United States.

That case is separate from the New York prosecution, where Gardiner pleaded not guilty in June to cocaine importation conspiracy and firearms-related charges.

His arrest followed an extraordinary chain of events on May 12, when a private aircraft carrying him and ten other people crashed in the Atlantic during a flight from Abaco to Grand Bahama. All 11 people survived and were rescued by the US Coast Guard.

US authorities said Gardiner was carrying $30,000 in Bahamian currency when he was rescued.

His attorneys later produced a bank slip which they said showed that $20,000 had been withdrawn from an account belonging to Top Notch Builders, the company Gardiner described in court filings as his business.

The company has been linked to major government construction projects in The Bahamas, including the Eight Mile Rock administrative complex and the Carmichael Village affordable housing development.

Gardiner previously served a lengthy federal prison sentence in the United States after being convicted of cocaine importation offences nearly two decades ago.