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Prosecutor accuses defence counsel of witness tampering
CHARGED: Tiffany Peters
Police Corporal Deniro Jones, a prosecutor attached to the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has accused Attorney Latchmie Rahamat of tampering with a prosecution witness.
Prosecutor Jones made this revelation on Tuesday when the trial of Tiffany Peters, who is accused of stealing over $1M from the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts, continued before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.
Peters, 26, of Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara, was given a prison pardon last year by President David Granger. The woman was at the time serving a 60-month jail term imposed on her by Magistrate Judy Latchman in October 2014, after she was convicted of stealing $3,045,000 from the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
The monies were stolen between February 7 and September 11, 2012.
However, Peters is currently before the courts for allegedly stealing $1,127,000 from the Court between January 12 and August 7, 2012, while being employed as a clerk/servant at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
Peters, who is being represented by Attorney Rahamat is out on self bail.
According to the prosecutor, he observed the attorney conversing with Lakeram Heeralall, the Chief Accountant at the Supreme Court of Judicature, who is also a prosecution witness in the matter.
Prosecutor Jones said that several other police officers and even a reporter saw Attorney Rahamat speaking to the witness outside the courtroom after the trial had adjourned last week Wednesday.
Jones told Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, who is presiding over the matter, that he was advised by an attorney to report the matter to the court before doing so with police.
Attorney Rahamat has denied speaking with the witness.
The attorney told Kaieteur News that she held a confrontation with the witness in the presence of the prosecutor, Attorney Leslie Benjamin, who is also representing Peters, and a reporter.
The accusation by Prosecutor Jones against the Attorney Rahamat comes one week after she had accused him of “attempting to pervert the course of justice.”
The lawyer had complained to the Chief Magistrate that it was brought to her attention by Attorney Benjamin that she saw Mr. Heeralall affixing his signature to a report he compiled in relation to the matter.
According to the Attorney, she was told by her colleague that Mr. Heeralall was caught signing the documents outside the courtroom while Prosecutor Jones was taking evidence from Police Lance Corporal Shivalall Bridgelall. After the documents were signed, Attorney Rahamat said she was told by Attorney Benjamin that they were brought back into the courtroom and handed over to the prosecutor.
Attorney Rahamat disclosed that the documents were original copies of the report and that during the signing the witness backdated it to 2012.
However, Prosecutor Jones is contending that Mr. Heeralall told him that he was signing a true reflection of a report he prepared in relation to the matter back in 2012.
Nevertheless, the Attorney had divulged that she was in the process of preparing a report to be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
The trial continued yesterday during which Mohamed Bacchus, Former Principal Court of Clerk (ag) at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court was called to testify. A retired Bacchus, of Lusignan, East Coast Demerara said that Peters was employed at the Court as a cashier in the Collecting Office during 2012.
Mr. Heeralall during his testimony said that he prepared a report in relation to the matter which he handed over to the police.
Earlier on in the trial, Corporal Bridgelall was called to give evidence during which he told the court that he travelled to the New Amsterdam prison, where Peters was an inmate and showed her documents he received from an individual.
According to Corporal Bridgelall, he cautioned the woman who replied, “I would give you a statement, but not under caution. I just want you to write down what I have to say.”
Corporal Bridgelall told the court that he obtained a statement from Peters.
The statement, the police witness added, was taken to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Eve Leary, Georgetown and then dispatched to the DPP for advice.
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