SPANISH TOWN St Catherine – The case against Spanish Town Mayor Dr Andrew Wheatley and six other people who were arrested and charged in September 2005 with blocking the road during a planned demonstration in Naggo Head, Portmore, St Catherine, was dismissed yesterday.

Senior St Catherine resident magistrate Lorna Errar-Gayle dismissed the case when she accepted the submission from defence attorney George Soutar QC, that the police erred by not giving the accused persons an opportunity to pay a penalty – as stipulated under section 53 of the National Solid Waste Management Act.

The six other accused persons included JLP councillor Natalie Campbell- Rodriquez, 30, of the Westchester Division Portmore, St Catherine; Dalton Dawkins, 26; Johnny Morgan, 20; Troy Watson, 19; Mike Barrett, 32, Dalkeith Brown, 19 and Andre Stoddart,18.

Allegations against the seven are that about 4:30 am on Tuesday, September 6, 2005, the mayor, his driver and a number of other persons were seen dumping debris onto the roadway during a planned demonstration in Naggo Head. They were arrested and charged for breaching the Solid Waste Management Act, but were granted station bail of $20,000 with surety.

Soutar submitted that the police had failed to follow the procedure laid down under the Act and that the accused persons should have been served with a notice to pay a specified sum within 21 days, before they could be arrested.

In dismissing the case against the seven, Errar-Gayle made a strong observation that because there was a gap in the law, it appears that persons can commit the offence and get away with it. “But the lawmakers must see the law and close this gap.” Errar-Gayle said.