Plea discussions date set in Mario Deane case

WESTERN BUREAU:

THE ST James Circuit Court yesterday set September 18 as the date for the much-anticipated plea agreement discussions in the case against Marvin Orr and Adrian Morgan, the men charged in relation to the 2014 death of Mario Deane.

The decision was taken following the submission of the longawaited psychiatric reports on the two men, who are central to the case in terms of making a determination about the circumstances which led to Deane’s death while in custody at the Barnett Street police lock-up in Montego Bay, St James.

Both defendants, who are said to be mentally challenged, are facing murder charges stemming from the incident.

During yesterday’s court proceedings, Orr’s attorney, Trevor Ho Lyn, confirmed that he had received the psychiatric reports from the prosecution.

“The Crown submitted to me the latest psychiatric report, and it is now in keeping with what we had requested, as we wanted to know about the possibility of diminished responsibility. The report says that at the time, Mr Orr was suffering from an abnormality, and it is also the same position for Mr Morgan,” Ho Lyn told the court.

High Court Justice Sonya WintBlair subsequently set September 18 as the new mention date. She also ordered that Orr and Morgan be brought to court at that time.

The allegations are that, on August 3, 2014, Mario Deane was beaten into a coma while being held at the Barnett Street Police Station for possession of a ganja spliff. He died three days later in hospital without regaining consciousness.

Orr and Morgan, who were also in custody at the Barnett Street lock-up, were later arrested and charged along with a third inmate, Damion Cargill. In July 2017, Cargill was judged unfit to answer to the charges or to stand trial and was released into his family’s care.