ST JAMES, Jamaica – The St James Circuit Court is expected to make a decision on Friday as to where the case surrounding the three cops charged in connection with the 2014 beating death of Mario Deane will be transferred.

The case was adjourned on Thursday after the court failed to arrive at a conclusive transfer location. It is expected that a decision will be made between the parishes of St Elizabeth and Westmoreland.

The revelation was made when Corporal Elaine Stewart, Constables Juliana Clevon and Marlon Grant, who have been charged with manslaughter, perverting the course of justice, and misconduct in a public office by the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), made an appearance in the St James Circuit Court on Thursday.

The court had three options on the table, St Ann, Trelawny or Westmoreland, for the case to be transferred to, and gave a more than two hours adjournment for the crown to make checks on the status of these courts. However, when the case resumed at 2:00 pm, the prosecutor told Supreme Court Judge, Justice Bertram Morrison, that these parishes have their fair share of issues, resulting in the adjournment.

The decision to have the case transferred follows Monday’s sitting in which Justice Morrison let known his preference to see the case removed from St James due to a series of delays in starting the trial since the case was first brought before the circuit court in 2018.

Earlier on Thursday, the crown queried the possibility of the case being considered for a judge alone trial because of jury issues, but this was rejected by Justice Morrison. The crown also made an application for the case to be transferred to Kingston.

However, this was strongly opposed by attorneys representing the three accused. The attorneys argued that such a move would result in severe hardship for the three who have not worked for the past 10 years. They also pointed out that while their clients have the right to choose a lawyer of their own, they will not be available to travel to Kingston to represent the three cops.

Allegations are that Deane was arrested for the possession of a ganja spliff and placed in custody where he was brutally beaten on August 3, 2014. Deane received severe injuries to his brain which left him in a coma. He died three days later in the Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James.

It is alleged that the three cops had been on duty at the police station at the time when Deane was beaten. It is further alleged that Corporal Stewart gave instructions for the cell in which the attack took place to be cleaned before the arrival of investigators from the Independent Commission of Investigations.

In May 2014, St James Parish Judge Sandria Wong Small ruled that the three cops should stand trial. At the time Stewart was 50, Clevon 32, and Grant 27 years old.