If there is one accused who must be grateful for a loyal grandmother, it would have to be Rico Danny Kirton.
When Kirton, 19, made his third application for bail yesterday and Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant asked to see his grandmother so that she could verify that he resides with her, she was nowhere in the precincts of the court.
Luckily for Kirton, though, she showed up later and signed the $8,000 bail which the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court No. 2 granted him with strict conditions attached, including a nightly curfew and having to report to police.
Kirton, described in court documents as being of no fixed of abode, is charged with indecently assaulting a female on March 10 this year and raping another on March 26. He was on remand for the past five months.
The accused reminded the court that he had been denied bail on the previous occasion when he applied, because his charge sheet stated that he had no fixed place of abode.
Kirton sought to clarify the issue by telling the court that he resides with his grandmother, who “has been coming here for five months now”. The police had completed his charge sheet incorrectly, he said last time.
On this occasion, Kirton insisted “ . . . whichen I live somewhere . . . I live with my grandmother.” He also repeated arguments used in his last bail application, drawing attention to the fact that his co-accused had already been granted bail.
“I charge with two other fellows. Them get bail. I in jail five months now Mam. I want to know why I can’t get bail Mam?” Kirton queried.
When Magistrate Cuffy-Sargeant asked whether he had another serious matter before the court, Kirton said not “this court” but “next door” (Court No. 1). He also explained that his co-accused had that same second charge.
Questioning him further, the magistrate also asked whether this charge had come about while he was on bail for the first matter. Kirton said it had.
When the court orderly called for the accused’s grandmother by name, there was no response. She was apparently on her way then because she showed up later and was accepted as a surety for Kirton who returns to court on December 10.