The murder trial for William "Danny" Mason, Ashton Vanegas, Keiron Fernandez, Terrence Fernandez, and Ernest Castillo continued today in Belmopan, after just over 2 weeks of recess.
And in that time, Justice Antoinette Moore and the Marshall assigned to her court have been doing their very best to assist Mason in getting access to his final witness. As we told you, he wants to call a US Embassy employee to testify in his defense. The difficulty is that this US Embassy employee is currently not in Belize. To get access to him, the Supreme Court has to go through the official, government to government channels, by making a formal request via a diplomatic note.
So, while that process slowly moves forward, the trial cannot proceed, even though its conclusion is in clear view. That's because the defense cannot close their case.
Rather than waste the day in court, Justice Moore presided over what is called an "issues conference". Each of the attorneys was allowed to draw the judge's attention to pieces of evidence in the trial that they believe are important for the verdict against all 5 defendants. DPP Cheryl-Lynn Vidal was up first, and she asked the court to consider how it will treat the circumstantial evidence against each of the 5 defendants. The DPP then focused briefly on the video surveillance evidence from Mason's Intelco Hill Home, as well as the DNA evidence, which, as viewers will remember, is significant to the prosecution's case.
Finally, the DPP asked the court to consider how it will treat the issue of joint enterprise. The prosecution's case in this trial is that all 5 defendants played a role in the July 2016 beheading murder of Pastor Llewelyn Lucas.
Some of the issues raised by the defense counsels included the surveillance footage, and if any of the defendants can be reliably identified in it. Also, they pointed to inconsistencies in the testimony of one prosecution witness. Also, the attorneys asked the court to consider whether or not the prosecution successfully proved that some of the defendants are guilty by a joint enterprise.
When the hearing concluded just before midday, we got a chance to speak with defense attorney Norman Rodriguez. Here's what he had to say outside of court:
Reporter
"Give us a brief recap of the morning's activities, starting with the difficulties that the court continues to have to get this last witness."
Norman Rodriguez - Attorney for Ashton Vanegas
"Difficulty? I don't think the court has a difficulty because the court is resolving it by deciding whether it's going to grant the time or not, using its discretion. The witness, they're working on trying to get the statement from the witness. But, you know that there are certain protocols that in any area that you try to resolve things, you will have certain protocols that you have to deal with. And in this case, it's a short adjournment, we should be able to be back here by Thursday. There's only like one short process left before they can get the statement from the witness, and then, we will proceed to the closings."
Reporter
"Okay, now explain to us the issues conference, and what were some of the points raised by the attorneys, as far as you're aware. Explain to us the importance of this issues conference."
Norman Rodriguez
"Yeah, it is important, and for me, it was a first issues conference. We are given an opportunity, along with our clients, to decide what issues we would like the court to direct its mind to when considering the evidence that has been brought or put before it. Different attorneys had different issues, but you had some overlapping. One of them had to do with one of the witnesses who came and gave evidence that may have been seen as conflicting, or inconsistency with another witness. Things like this will happen in any trial. One witness will say something. The other might say something a little differently, and the attorneys will use it as an opportunity to have the court rule in favor of their clients."
The case is scheduled to continue on Thursday afternoon, but if there is a favorable response in the quest to get access to Mason's final defense witness, then the trial may continue tomorrow. We'll keep following it.
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