ST JAMES, Jamaica — A bench warrant was executed on Monday for a man who was allegedly found in unlawful possession of a card machine on a hotel property in Rose Hall, St James.

The accused, Demitri Ffrench, who is from Kingston, was charged with criminal trespassing. He was scheduled to appear in the St James Parish Court but did not show up.

The defendant’s lawyer, Chumu Paris, informed the court that his client’s nonappearance was due to being involved in a motor vehicle accident in Manchester.

As a result, presiding judge Kaysha Grant-Pryce ruled that the warrant, which was issued and stayed on May 21, should now be executed.

According to court documents, on June 28, 2023, security personnel at a hotel in Rose Hall, St James, reportedly spotted Ffrench on the property and called the police after discovering he was not a guest there.

A black knapsack Ffrench had in his possession was allegedly found to contain a card machine he couldn’t properly account for. He was subsequently charged with unlawful possession of property and criminal trespassing.

The charge of unlawful possession of property was dismissed in December last year due to the unavailability of the video evidence on which the prosecution was relying.