MANDEVILLE, Manchester – The court case against Jeremy Chen, managing director of the Super Plus Food Store at Park Crescent in Mandeville, and four others accused of assaulting and badly beating two young employees of the supermarket on January 16 has been transferred from Mandeville to Kingston.

The change of venue followed an application in chambers by defence lawyer Wentworth Charles.

Last week, the Manchester police confirmed the change to the Gun Court Division in Kingston and Charles told the Sunday Observer that the matter would be heard in that jurisdiction “sometime in June”.

Checks with the court system and the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions on Friday failed to reveal the exact court date. Gun Court hearings are not open to the public.

Prior to the change of venue, the case was scheduled for the Gun Court Division of the Manchester Circuit Court on May 15.

Charged jointly with Chen are Ainsley Henry, manager of the store at Park Crescent, assistant manager Ryan Lindo, driver Garth Fagan, and Fabian Foster, a contractor employed to the store.

The men – all on bail – are charged with kidnapping, illegal possession of a firearm, unlawful wounding, assault occasioning grievous bodily harm, and assault at common law.

The five were arrested following allegations that at about 7:30 pm on January 16, two SuperPlus employees, Renardo Dawes, 20, and Michael Sinclair, 18, were accused of stealing three crates of Guinness stout.

The two were allegedly taken to Chen’s home in Mandeville where they were allegedly badly beaten. They suffered injuries that required hospitalisation.

A dog was allegedly released on one of the men. He was allegedly bitten by the animal.

When the five men last appeared in the Manchester Resident Magistrate’s Court on March 10, Charles informed RM Marva McDonald-Bishop that he was seeking a change of venue.

The magistrate explained then that such a request could only be considered when the matter moved to the higher court, the Circuit Court.

Charles said at the time that he would be following up with a renewed application for a change of venue in chambers because of the “level of hostility” his clients had experienced in Mandeville.

He appeared to suggest at the time that a new venue would also aid a “speedy trial”.

Charles’ position flowed from experiences in Mandeville when the five accused men appeared in court there on January 20 and February 8. On both those occasions, large crowds converged on the historic court house at the centre of the town and mobbed the vehicle in which the five were being transported, despite a strong police presence.

On January 20, large angry groups also approached SuperPlus stores in Mandeville triggering a decision by the chain’s management to close its Mandeville outlets in the early afternoon on that day.

SuperPlus, headed by Wayne Chen, older brother of Jeremy Chen, is Jamaica’s largest supermarket chain.

editorial@jamaicaobserver.com