Today attorney Oscar Selgado was in court, but this time, as a defendant, not a defense attorney. Back in 2019, Selgado was charged for abetment to commit murder after he allegedly hired another man, Giovanni Ramirez, to kill a woman named Marilyn Barnes. Ramirez reportedly went to the cops with a recording to prove this allegation, and according to him, Selgado wanted Barnes dead because she made a complaint against him to the General Legal Council, that could have gotten him disbarred.
And in the Supreme Court today, Barnes was the first witness to take the stand. She confirmed that she did make a complaint to the GLC - that he had conducted himself in an unethical manner. She also told the court that she had confronted him about the alleged sexual assault of a male intern in the Ombudsman office.
From there, the focus turned to missing electronic evidence. One police officer from the Cybercrime Unit explained that he was tasked to extract footage from a cellphone - crucial evidence which was later lost.
According to Trienia Young, the registrar general of the supreme court, in 2021, the then Chief Justice Michelle Arana gave her an envelope, in which she said she could feel the CD cases that, presumably, held the recordings. Later, in February 2023, it was reported that the exhibits on file were not there. She attempted to source other copies, but to no avail.
The fourth witness was the former ombudsman, Lionel Arzu, who confirmed to the court that there was an allegation against Selgado by a male intern, and that he had only found out about it after a non-disclosure agreement was handed to him by a now deceased staff member. According to him, he put the envelope in his personal bag, and later, it went missing.
The trial began at 10 this morning and concluded at 5, in front of Judge Nigel Pilgrim. Immediately following the conclusion of today's session, Selgado stormed out of the courtroom and scolded the media for covering the case.
Oscar Selgado, Charged With Abetment To Murder
"What is it that the media want to ask me? To comment upon a case that is before the judge? To comment upon a case that is sub judice? I am not afraid of the media, I have nothing to hide. What I want you people to understand is to respect the privacy of citizens, respect my privacy and I don't want to see you back at this court until the case is finished. When the case is finished, I will give you an interview and I'll tell you what I think but as of now, I cannot comment, Cheryl Lynn cannot comment, nobody can comment upon a case that is before the court, learn your jobs. Do your job properly. That is all."
It should be noted that high profile Supreme Court cases are usually covered extensively, and attorneys - such as Selgado himself - have given interviews in the past while the case was ongoing.
And Selgado's attorney, Adolf Lucas, also spoke with us following the session. He gave his views on the evidence presented in court today.
Adolf Lucas, Attorney At Law
"It's the prosecution who opened the case and they called witnesses just to prove… to prove part of the case and when the prosecution, crown I would say, close the case, then we'll open, then it's for us now to open our defense."
"The evidence that they brought it, to my mind, one of them is the exhibit missing, the other one, that Giovanni is charged for prohibited firearm and ammunition. But it still peripheral where the evidence is concerned."
"They're going to bring in two witness, one witness, to show that Giovanni Ramirez is supposed to be in fair to come to court. If the judge rules that he is fair to come to court they're going to read his statement. But Mr Selgado will have that opportunity to give evidence too."
Reporter:
"Would you be able to speak about the aspects relating to the missing documents and how that fits into the main case?"
Adolf Lucas, Attorney At Law
"It would seem that two police men are going to say that they heard… the recording, the disk. So if it is found that the disk are missing which supposed to have what Ramirez said to them in the statement, because according to him, he recorded, made record of what he and Selgado conversed about. So if they don't find that, two policemen are going to say that they have looked at the recording, but that would be another matter for the defense."
Reporter:
"At this point, all evidence that are being lead is all periphery and there's nothing at this point…"
Adolf Lucas, Attorney At Law
"Substantive, yes, nothing substantive, so that's good so that they can show all the aspect of their case but nothing solid as yet."
The trial continues tomorrow and the. Prosecution is being led by the DPP.
