MONTEGO BAY, St James — The trial of three police officers facing multiple charges arising from the death of Mario Deane while in police custody has again been pushed back.

The latest delay has been attributed to challenges finding an adequate number of jurors.

The highly anticipated trial, which was supposed to begin in the St James Circuit Court before High Court Justice Bertram Morrison on Monday, has been pushed back to November 18. The cops’ bails have been extended.

The trial has been postponed numerous times since the three police officers’ initial appearance before the St James Circuit Court on September 18, 2018.

Police corporal Elaine Stewart, along with constables Juliana Clevon and Marlon Grant were arrested and charged with manslaughter, misconduct in a public office, and perverting the course of justice, in relation to Deane’s death.

It is alleged that the three were on duty at the Barnett Street police lock-up in Montego Bay when Deane was brutally beaten to death on August 3, 2014. Deane, 31, was in custody at the facility for possession of a ganja spliff.

He died three days later at the Cornwall Regional Hospital.

It is also being alleged that Stewart, the most senior officer of the trio, gave instructions for the cell where the beating took place to be cleaned before investigators arrived.

DUTCH MAN ON COCAINE RAP HOSPITALISED

Patrick Crawford, the Dutch man who allegedly tried to smuggle $28.3 million worth of cocaine through Montego Bay’s Sangster International Airport last month, has been hospitalised due to health issues.

The revelation was made on Monday in the St James Parish Court, where he was scheduled to appear.

Crawford, a 44-year-old carpenter from Rotterdam, Holland, is charged with possession of, dealing in, and attempting to export 13.5 pounds of cocaine.

It was brought to the court’s attention during the legal proceedings that Crawford had been admitted to the hospital for medical attention early Monday morning, just a few hours prior to his scheduled court hearing.

During Crawford’s previous court appearance on June 10 his attorney Henry McCurdy requested medical attention for him, citing a toothache and other health concerns. At that time, Crawford claimed that his repeated requests to the police for medical attention went unanswered, and that his complaints about the cell block conditions were ignored.

It was also revealed on Monday that the forensic certificate and a corroborating officer’s statement were still missing from the prosecution’s case file.

Following further talks with the prosecution and the defence, presiding judge Natiesha Fairclough-Hylton scheduled the case for mention on July 15.

According to the allegations, on May 9 about 5:00 pm, Crawford was in a queue waiting to be checked in on a TUI flight destined for Brussels, Belgium, when he was questioned and his luggage inspected.

During the search of his carry-on luggage, four rectangular packages were discovered in two hidden compartments made of carbon paper and transparent plastic. These packages allegedly contained a white powdery substance believed to be cocaine.

A subsequent search of Crawford’s checked baggage also revealed two hidden compartments containing four packages similar in appearance and content to those found in his carry-on luggage. The total weight of the illicit substance found in both pieces of luggage was estimated to be around 13.5 pounds.

He was arrested and charged.

TYRE REPAIRMAN ON MURDER RAP HAS CASE TO ANSWER

The court has ruled that Oppley Ebanks, a tyre repairman accused of using a stone to beat another man to death during a confrontation, has a case to answer.

Trial judge Natiesha Fairclough-Hylton believes that the evidence presented before the St James Parish Court on Monday is sufficient to warrant the matter being transferred to the High Court.

The judge subsequently transferred the case to the St James Circuit Court for mention on September 17 and offered Ebanks new bail in the amount of $600,000 with the requirement of up to two sureties in response to an application by his attorney Jermaine Campbell.

A curfew order between the hours of 10:00 pm and 5:00 am was also imposed.

Ebanks, who is from Bottom Road, Orange in St James, is charged with murder in relation to the death of 40-year-old labourer Santino Plummer who lived in Lilliput.

According to allegations, about 11:30 pm on January 14 Plummer went to a football field to conduct a business transaction. While there an argument reportedly developed between him and a woman in which Ebanks intervened.

The confrontation between the two men turned physical, during which Ebanks allegedly used a stone to strike Plummer. The police were summoned, and on their arrival Plummer was seen lying face down in blood with a wound to the head.

Ebanks, who was seen running from the scene, was chased and held by the lawmen.

He was taken into custody and formally charged after a question-and-answer session.