Back in March of this year, William Danny Mason and his 4-co-defendants Ashton Vanegas, Keron Fernandez, Terrence Fernandez, and Ernest Castillo, began standing trial without jury in front of Justice Antoinette Moore in the Belmopan Supreme Court.
The court heard extensive evidence led by DDP Cheryl-Lynn Vidal herself, in which the prosecution was attempting to prove that Mason and these others were guilty of the July 2016 beheading of Pastor Llewellyn Lucas.
That trial was well underway when their lawyer, Herbert Panton, asked the court to be relieved as their defense attorney. Justice Moore granted his application, which meant that all 5 men didn't have an attorney to represent them. The judge then put the trial on pause so that they could find a replacement, but Mason didn't go looking for another Belize attorney.
Instead, he has reportedly retained 38 year-old Dexter Todd, an attorney out of Guyana. He was at court today along with Mason's wife, Melissa Ferguson, trying to get his application filed before the Supreme Court bench, so that he can be called to the Belize Bar. Without a successful application, he cannot practice law in Belize.
He was at court today making all the necessary preparations to submit his application, and he was being aided by Mason's wife, and attorney Dickie Bradley, who was retained by the couple.
Mason and others are reportedly expected to appear before Justice Moore tomorrow in the Belmopan Supreme Court, where he may be expected to update the court on his efforts to get this new attorney to represent him in the trial.
Best reports to 7News suggests that Supreme Court has appointed attorneys to defend the 4 other co-accused, so that their constitutional right to a fair trial is not breeched.
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