And while many officers were in the funeral procession, another was in court awaiting the decision of a jury. A jury of 5 women and 4 men deliberated for about 4 hours before it found 34 year old police constable Marlon Harris guilty of extortion. The jury’s verdict was unanimous.
The trial judge Justice Troadio Gonzalez fined Harris ten thousand dollars, after he heard a plea for mitigation from his attorney, Bernard “BQ” Pitts. Harris was given until September 30th, to pay the fine. If he defaults on payment he will serve one year. The maximum sentence for the offence is 2 years. The prosecution, represented by Crown Counsel Yohhansen Cave, was able to prove that on December 1st, 2008, Harris extorted $100 from Turkish national Hytklin Kelab, the Manager of Celebrity Restaurant.
On November 30th, 2008, the day before, Kelab was driving a vehicle for which the insurance had expired and he was stopped at a police checkpoint at mile 4 on the Western Highway. Kelab was summoned to appear in Court on Tuesday, December 1st, 2008. But on Monday, November 30th, Harris went to Celebrity Restaurant and told Kelab that he can make it go away with the payment of One Hundred dollars.
Before Kelab handed over the money he called the police and Assistant Commissioner of Police David Henderson who arrived and got the One Hundred dollar note from Harris. Harris gave a statement from the dock in which he admitted that he went to Celebrity Restaurant on December 1st, but said he went there only to meet a woman whom he met at Racoon Street Police Station.
