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It was a visit to the locus, or the scene of the crime for the magistrate, the accused, and the defence attorney. They traveled in 7 vehicles to the Toledo District where the drug plane landed.
Defence Attorney Lynden Jones told us the first stop was at Indian Creek where everyone was shown a location some 300 meters off a dead end dirt road where 2 of the accused were allegedly found beside a barbwire fence
After that everyone went to the Golden Stream area where they were shown the paths leading to where the alleged drugs were concealed.
Prosecutor Alifah Elrington explained the importance of that visit today as the trial enters its last stages
Alifah Elrington, Prosecutor
"So we are winding on the voir dire. The last aspect for the prosecution case was an application to visit the locus. So we dealt with that this morning. We dealt with a witness who came to testify as to the state of the locus to determine if it is that locus is similar to what it was in 2021, in November of 2021, when this incident happened."
"So a visit to the locus can be asked for by either the defense or the prosecution. In this case, the prosecution requested the locus.There was particular evidence given during the testimony of our witness. And based on that evidence, I felt it was important and it was relevant to the voir dire that we actually visit the locus because we are going to visit the locus, and we must always be fair to the accused persons what is required or what the prosecution must establish, is that the locus has not changed in any significant way from the date of the incident. So that is what would have transpired. That would have needed somebody to go down. Or the witness who testified actually to the circumstances of the locus would have to go back, review the locus, see where the different areas that he was and he spoke of in his evidence, and then be able to come back and tell the court if there was any change to it.So that, again, we addressed that this morning. The witness gave evidence that the locus has not substantially changed since November of 2021"
Once the defense has completed its case the magistrate will make a determination after submissions have been made. Now the attorney's are waiting for the court to determine whether these submissions will be written or oral at the close of the defense case. Those dates are the 24th, 26th and 27th of September.
