MONTEGO BAY, St James — The selection of Westmoreland as the new trial location for three cops charged in connection with the death of Mario Deane has been welcomed by his mother and one defence lawyer.

“I’d rather it be Hanover since it’s closer by, but I’m still glad it’s Westmoreland and not somewhere else up the line because then it’s a little way out,” said Mercia Fraser.

She was speaking with the media Friday after the latest update in her more than 10-year quest to get justice for her son, who was killed while in police lock-up.

“At one point I rather Kingston; because then I know there’s a lot of courtrooms and you’ll find more people going out for jury duty. But as long as it will happen in Westmoreland, I’m fine with it,” Fraser added.

The case, which was transferred from the St James Circuit Court on Friday after several delays due mainly to jury issues, has been scheduled for mention in the Westmoreland Circuit Court on February 17, 2025.

“I feel a little relieved that it seems like something is going to happen because nothing happened in St James,” said Fraser.

Defence attorney Dalton Reid, who is representing Constable Juliana Clevon, said he and his client are prepared for what could be a long trial.

“We are ready. I am ready. The defence is ready,” he told the Jamaica Observer outside the court on Friday.

“It [Westmoreland] is better than Kingston. It might be a little tiring but I just can’t imagine travelling to Kingston every day to do a matter like this for the amount of time I think it is going to take,” he added.

Reid anticipates the trial may run for two months when it finally gets underway.

“I suspect that the matter is going to take at least eight weeks. That is my suspicion. It is a very big file. I don’t know how many of the witnesses they [the Crown] are planning on calling but I am going to be preparing on the basis that most of these persons will be giving evidence,” he said.

Westmoreland was selected as the new location based on the Crown’s assertion that the parish would have better success finding jurors to serve than St Elizabeth, the other option put forward.

On Monday Supreme Court Judge Justice Bertram Morrison expressed the view that the matter should never be tried in St James. He pointed to numerous delays, some of which were caused by the parish police’s failure to serve potential jurors with summonses.

On Friday, Justice Morrison instructed that communication be made with the registrar for Westmoreland to ensure summonses are served for appropriate service. He gave this directive after setting the next mention date and extending the $400,000 bail for each of the accused.

After a probe by the Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom) the three cops were charged with manslaughter, perverting the course of justice, and misconduct in a public office.

Deane was arrested for possession of a ganja spliff and placed in custody. The allegations are that 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 — Clevon, Corporal Elaine Stewart and Constable Marlon Grant — were on duty at the police station at the time when Deane was beaten by others in his cell. It is further alleged that Corporal Stewart gave instructions for the cell to be cleaned before the arrival of Indecom investigators.

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.