-defence tells court
Natalia Ross, the woman that Office of the President Press Officer Kwame McCoy is accused of hitting with his car during last year’s election campaign, no longer wishes to pursue an assault case against him, his lawyer said yesterday.
McCoy’s trial for the alleged assault was to begin yesterday before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
The charge is based on the allegation that on October 25, 2011, McCoy unlawfully assaulted Ross, after an altercation over the placement of political posters. At some point during the altercation, McCoy allegedly jumped into his vehicle and struck down Ross.
Ross was not present in court yesterday and Senior Counsel Bernard De Santos, McCoy’s lawyer, said he had received information that Ross provided a document stating that she did not wish to continue with the matter.
McCoy then produced a document which was shown to the magistrate to substantiate the claim. However, the magistrate explained that in many such cases, the virtual complainants would have to swear to the information. As a result, she stood down the case to facilitate the prosecution to contact the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to verify the claim being made.
When the matter was called again, the prosecution reported that the DPP was unaware of such a letter being filed.
De Santos then asked the magistrate to have Ross summoned for another date to clarify the letter. The magistrate granted the request and a summons was issued for Ross.
The matter will be called again on September 24 in Court One.
The assault case is one of two such matters with which McCoy was charged last December. He was also charged with assaulting Clifton Stewart, for which he was convicted last month. He was ordered to pay a fine in that case.
