PORUS, Manchester — Guarded optimism in the Porus courthouse, that even if the Manchester Municipal Corporation $400-million fraud trial went into the new year, it would be only to hear closing arguments, has been shattered.

Presiding judge Ann Marie Grainger at the sitting last week Thursday, began setting new dates — starting on January 6 to the end of that month — for the continuation of the trial.

The case will now drag in 2020, mainly on account of last-minute applications by the Crown to have at least half-a-dozen changes made to some of the charges against main accused, the corporation’s former deputy superintendent of road and works Sanja Elliott and his employee Dwayne Sibblies.

Defence counsel, instead of preparing end-of-trial submissions, will now need to review the case against their clients in light of the amendments that have been allowed to the indictment.

Defence attorney Norman Godfrey, who represents Elliott and Sibblies, was successful in blocking two of the six amendments sought by the Crown relating to Sibblies. However, amendments to four counts affecting Elliott were allowed by the judge.

The prosecution had asked last month, in the case of Sibblies, that count 19 of the indictment be removed and another count added stating that Sibblies “caused money to be paid by false pretences contrary to Section 35 of the Larceny Act”. The details of the amendment are that Sibblies, “[on] 18th March 2016 in the parish of Manchester attempted to defraud $375,000 for the use or benefit of himself or others, by falsely pretending that he was authorised to encash [a cheque] drawn on the [then] Manchester Parish Council in the name Tyrone Merchant”.

This amendment affecting Sibblies, was not allowed last week Thursday by the judge and neither did she permit a second request made by the Crown that the word “fraudulent” be removed from count 27 of the indictment, also related to Sibblies.

In relation to Elliott, the Crown had requested last month that amendments to counts 10, 12, and 13 be made requiring alterations in time- lines, wording and downward adjustments to certain sums of money mentioned in the indictment.

Last week Thursday, when the court convened to hear defence counsels’ objection to the amendments, the Crown applied for yet another count — No 11 — relating to Elliott, to be also amended.

In refusing the application for the additional count affecting Sibblies, judge Grainger noted that in her view, 32 counts were already too many, “I do not see the need to add another count”, she stated.

Lamenting the need for the Crown to be seeking amendments to the indictment at so late a stage in the trial, judge Grainger, although permitting the amendments in relation to Elliott, said that “one would have expected that the Crown would get it right”. She, however, noted that the amendment “can be made without injustice being caused”.

The other defendants before the court answering charges in relation to an alleged conspiracy to defraud the Manchester Municipal Corporation of hundreds of millions of dollars are former corporation employees, David Harris and Kendale Roberts, Elliott’s wife Tashagay, his parents Edwardo and Myrtle, and former bank teller, Radcliffe McLean.