ACCUSED Lindell Powell, the man whose symptoms last week forced a speedy adjournment of the ongoing trial of six alleged members of the King Valley gang, is not COVID-19 positive, according to his attorney Russell Stewart.

However, the attorney said his client has been quarantined out of an abundance of caution.

“He was placed in an area at the facility where other inmates are ‘quarantined’. However, based on what he would have shared with me, I’m no doctor, but it doesn’t seem as if the symptoms he was experiencing were that which should be taken to that extreme measure, but I understand because we are in such a serious time now, given the COVID-19 cases, that they have quarantined him. But, from what I know though, he did get medical attention,” Stewart told the Jamaica Observer on Monday.

Last Wednesday the trial of the six in the Home Circuit Court, which has since January been forced to adjourn twice due to the illness of two of the accused, was adjourned by Chief Justice Bryan Sykes for another 14 days after Powell described his symptoms to an attorney who brought it to the attention of the judge.

Defence counsel Abina Morris, at the time, indicated that Powell had said he was “feeling very unwell, had an intense headache, and his throat is hurting”.

“He indicated that he started feeling unwell from yesterday and he was coughing then, but he’s not coughing today. He indicates that his joints are hurting,” she said.

Morris also informed that Powell had said he had not told prison officials about his symptoms.

But on Monday, his lawyer, who had not been in the courtroom at the time, said Powell had told him about his symptoms prior and had been advised what to do.

“He did advise me the day before that he had been feeling ill; however, he told me that based on discussions he had with persons there, there was the inclination to take him to the doctor before, so I was a bit shocked, to be quite honest, that he was taken to court. In fact, when he came to court, before he even reached upstairs I told him to advise the [police] sergeant at the holding area there, that he was supposed to get medication at a certain time based on what he had told me before. He had been getting them while he was at the facility,” Stewart told the Observer Monday.

He said his client had told him that the medication he had been receiving “didn’t seem to be working”.

“So I told him, if you do come, speak to the sergeant at the holding area at the Supreme Court and advise him of what’s going on so you can take medication before the court session begins. That didn’t happen, it seems,” Stewart said.

In the meantime, while no specific condition has been named, he said his client is on the mend.

“Based on the conversation I had with him, and this was not qualified by any member of staff at the St Catherine Adult Remand Centre, he got medication before but it was ongoing, and based on the conversation I had with him after, he seems to be on the path of recovery. But just for safety concerns, given the kind of context we are in in terms of COVID-19, the authorities thought it prudent to quarantine him,” Stewart said.

Asked whether a blood sample had been taken from his client, he said: “I am not certain [a blood test was done], I believe strict measures would have been taken based on the symptoms he complained about, and based on the symptoms the Ministry of Health and Wellness would have said to look out for, they just decided to quarantine him.”

The attorney, in the meantime, said he does not know the length of time for which his client will be on lockdown.

“He is not among the general population, he is in a secluded area. As far as I am aware, he is doing okay, doing well, quite honestly,” Stewart shared.

The attorney also said he was unaware of his client having “any other medical conditions or any underlying conditions”.

The trial by judge alone began on January 14 with nine men in the dock — three of whom have since been freed.

The remaining six — Carlington Godfrey, alias Tommy; Rannaldo McKennis, otherwise known as Ratty; Derval Williams, also called Lukie; Christon Grant, alias Ecoy; Powell, also called Lazarus; and Copeland Sankey, also known as Tupac — are charged in an indictment containing 11 counts on suspicion of being part of a criminal organisation, providing benefits to a criminal organisation, and conspiring to commit murder, rape, and robbery with aggravation from as early as 2013.

Godfrey and Williams are the other two accused on whose behalf adjournments were sought, the former on account of an undisclosed condition and the latter on account of chickenpox.

The Department of Correctional Services earlier this month said it had activated its novel coronavirus disease prevention plan to decrease the likelihood of the spread of the virus in its facilities islandwide, with all external visits to its facilities suspended for two weeks, initially. During this period, the public is not allowed to take food or care packages to correctional centres.

The department also indicated that although Probation Aftercare Offices are still operational, walk-in visits to these locations have also been halted. The suspensions are to be reviewed at the end of two weeks.

According to Commissioner of Corrections Gary Rowe, the move to suspend visits was made in consultation with health officials and external stakeholders, and follows on the Government’s decision to halt all public gatherings.

Meanwhile, operations within the island’s justice system have been scaled down. According to the Court Administration Division (CAD), all sittings and hearings of parish courts have been suspended from March 23 to April 20, except for matters deemed by judges to be fit for hearing.

Matters relating to domestic violence, maintenance collections and payments, breaches of the Quarantine Act, and matters involving children will be treated as emergency cases.

Where civil matters are concerned, trials are at a standstill while all individuals on bail will have their bail extended until their next court date, which will be announced on the CAD’s website.

Meanwhile, for criminal courts, all sittings are to be suspended until April 20, and guilty pleas are to be facilitated.