BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – VERLYN ZAKERS, who was indicted with four gun-related charges, maintained her innocence at her arraignment proceeding yesterday (May 26) and submitted “not-guilty” pleas for all counts.
The 23-year-old of Newton Ground is charged with illegal possession of firearms, illegal possession of ammunition, importation of firearms and importation of ammunition which arose from a June 12, 2008 incident at the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport.
According to information received by this media house shortly after the incident occurred, Zakers attempted to clear packages sent to her from the United States of America and, when they were being checked by customs officers, six firearms and more than 400 rounds of ammunition were found to be concealed within the packages.
Presiding judge, His Lordship Justice Francis Belle addressed the issue of bail which was granted Zakers shortly after she was arrested and charged with the offences.
Her defence counsel, Vincent Warner, informed that court that Zakers is the mother to a three-month-old who does not feed from bottles but from the breast.
Justice Belle ordered that Zakers’ bail be refreshed and her two sureties are required to foot a $100 000 “cash bail” bill if she is to remain outside of Her Majesty’s Prison before her trial begins. In the case of a “cash bail”, sureties are required to post the sum upfront, and only then the accused would be granted bail. However, failure of the accused to meet the conditions of the bail would result in forfeiture of the sum.
Two individuals who spoke with the court concerning the matter, expressed that they would endeavour to come up with $100 000 within a matter of days to post Zakers’ bail. Some of the conditions attached to the bail are that she must report to the Sandy Point Police Station on Mondays and Thursdays between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.; she is to have no contact, personally or through any agent, with the prosecution witnesses; she is to surrender all her travel documents to the Court’s Registrar; and she is to observe a 7:00 p.m. – 6:00 a.m. curfew.
His Lordship explained that if bail is posted and Zakers fails to appear before the court on her trial date, the bail sum would be forfeited.
Zakers stood in the prisoner’s dock with tears streaming down her saddened face as the two men agreed to foot the enormous bill. She was ushered away to Her Majesty’s Prison where she awaits word that her sureties were successful in posting her bail or the arrival of her trial date, which is July 7, 2009.
