CHARLES Montique, the man who was freed by the Circuit Court in 2017 after spending three years behind bars for crimes he did not commit, has been awarded just over $14 million in damages by a High Court judge.

Montique in 2020 sued the Government and the arresting officer at the centre of the matter for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution.

Justice Andrea Thomas, in ruling in Montique’s favour on September 19, ordered that he be awarded special damages totalling $450,000, general damages for false imprisonment of $6,837,444, and damages for malicious prosecution to include aggravated damage of $7,472,826, making the award a total $14,310,270 plus interest.

Justice Thomas, in assessing the evidence presented in the case, said she found that the claimant has proven that the two cops at the centre of the case, in setting in motion the prosecution for the offence of murder, robbery with aggravation, illegal possession of firearm, and illegal possession of ammunition, had no reasonable and probable cause to do so.

“As such I find them both liable for malicious prosecution. Considering the fact that in so doing they were employees of the State acting in the course of their duties, I find that the second defendant (the attorney general) is vicariously liable,” Justice Thomas said.

Montique, who was arrested and charged for robbery and murder in 2014, was freed in 2017 following an application by his attorney Anthony Williams who argued that Montique had been a victim of mistaken identity, and an admission by the Crown that its case would not have survived a no case submission application as no prima facie case could have been established against him.

The attorney, on behalf of Montique, filed claim documents in the Supreme Court against the cop and the Attorney General seeking special damages (compensation for out-of-pocket expenses) and general damages (compensation for losses suffered due to the defendant’s actions).

According to the documents, the cop“unlawfully, maliciously”, and “without reasonable or probable cause, falsely arrested and incarcerated Montique” at the Old Harbour Police Station and then at the Half-Way-Tree Police Station after which he was transferred to the Horizon Adult Remand Centre.

According to the claim, the police officer “failed or neglected to conduct a proper and or thorough investigations to ascertain the true and proper identity of who the alleged assailant was, having regards to the witness statement provided by the complainant, as well as other witnesses in respect of the murder and robbery” on October 1, 2014 in the Old Harbour area.

Based on the claim, the surviving female witness, who was allegedly robbed and her counterpart murdered, described her assailant twice in her witness statement dated October 3, 2014 as being very tall and about 6 feet 3 inches. Another witness described the assailant as being about 6-feet 2-3-inches tall or more. The document also said the then corporal said, based on the information he had received, he was in search of a man who walked with a limp.

Montique, however, the document says, “is 5-feet 8-inches tall, has absolutely no physical impediments or challenges, and has never walked with a limp throughout his life, nor on the days in question when he was arrested, or when it is alleged that an assailant murdered [name omitted] and robbed [name omitted].

In relation to a closed-circuit television (CCTV) video obtained by the police from a witness who said he had caught the assailant on camera, Montique’s legal team said, “This video proved to be manifestly unreliable and grossly inadequate to prove the presence of the accused or that a crime was committed by him or being committed by him, and furthermore it did not reveal the identity of the claimant at all.”

“The CCTV was about 60 minutes in duration and showed no identifiable individuals, not even the victims; the images were horrible and had a closer resemblance of shadows than human beings. All it showed were two instances of blurred images resembling that of a bicycle and two individuals going in separate directions at separate time stamps, and another image resembling that of a man walking along the roadway followed by what appears to be police vehicles heading in similar directions. It proved to be a colossal waste of the court’s time,” the document stated.

The lawyer further said even though Montique told the investigating officer that at the date and time of the incident he was at a bar having drinks with friends, there is no mention of the Crown checking out that alibi.

“The claimant was denied bail for three years and the prosecution relied on very frivolous evidence outlined above and maliciously prosecuted the claimant,” the document argued further.

It said prosecutors pursued charges against an accused when there was evidently no evidence against him when the charges were laid, and failed to dismiss the charges against the claimant for three years, even when it became evident that there was no ground on which said charges could stand and “relied on video evidence without properly watching and analysing said video, hence [taking] three years for the prosecution to agree that it was worthless and wouldn’t assist the Crown in proving its case”.

Montique’s legal team contended that as a consequence of his arrest and incarceration he suffered loss and damage and was caused “great embarrassment, distress, and humiliation” due to the fact that he was arrested in full view of the public at a birthday party he was hosting for himself and was forced to attend court on several occasions at the Old Harbour Resident Magistrate’s Court, and the Half-Way-Tree Gun Court in clear view of several members of the public.

Furthermore, they said Montique was kept at the Old Harbour lock-up, the Half-Way-Tree lock-up and the Horizon Adult Remand Centre for about 36 months pending the determination of court and was seen there by several members of the public and lost his employment as a farmer and caretaker as a result of the false charges brought against him and was unable to secure further employment for over three years.

“The claimant was ostracised by the community after he was freed of the charges and released from lock-up, and was even told by his previous employer that he couldn’t rehire him because of all that transpired.

“The claimant suffered from periods of anxiety, depression, mental anguish, and also from feelings of abandonment, loneliness, and mental disorientation as a result of being incarcerated for about three years,” the court documents said.

In addition, it said due to the fact that “one of his daughters died while he was in lock-up, not being there with his family as they mourned the death and his inability to attend said funeral led to severe depression”.

Furthermore, Montique’s attorney said he became physically ill on multiple occasions while he was incarcerated and had to be taken to the hospital for treatment several times.