Scandal - Rastafarian temple drugs trial collapses

[enquirewithin]

· Confusion over role of member of defence team
· Five men acquitted as case against them disintegrates

Owen Bowcott

This article appeared in the Guardian on Tuesday April 08 2008 on p11 of the UK news section. It was last updated at 00:01 on April 08 2008.

A £100,000 cannabis-dealing trial, launched following a high-profile police raid on a Rastafarian temple in south London, has collapsed in legal confusion.
The case against five men arrested last year when 250 officers burst into the building in Kennington disintegrated after it emerged that one of the defence legal team had allegedly been among complainants to police about drug sales there.
The case had been running for four weeks at the Inner London crown court before police sergeant Alf Sacre recognised the paralegal, Penny Wadsworth, from earlier inquiries and tracked down a document describing her telephone call about alleged drug dealing at the temple.
All five defendants - Fitzroy Pommell, 49, Jahlaw Selassie, 41, Roderick Green, 46, Everton Green, 40, and Hederal Scott, 51 - were acquitted by order of Judge Lindsay Burn. Prosecutors decided not to offer any evidence and announced that a retrial would not be in the public interest.
Wadsworth, who had worked for the City solicitors Howard Brown and Co for 20 years, was called to appear before the judge last Friday. The judge said that although the result was "catastrophic" for the trial he would be taking no further action against her.
"The information contained in [Wadsworth's complaint] ... wasn't disclosed to the firm at which she works and wasn't disclosed to counsel," Judge Burn told the court. He said the information was passed to Pommell's counsel, who then told Pommell.
"In my judgment, understandably, he felt he could no longer have complete confidence in the neutrality of his firm of solicitors," the judge said.
The defendants, all sporting bright red, gold and green Rastafarian hats, gave each other high-fives as they left the dock.
Pommell and Selassie, whose last recorded addresses were at the Rastafarian temple in St Agnes Place, Kennington, Roderick Green, of Watford, Hertfordshire, Everton Green, of Kingsbury, north-west London, and Scott, of Brixton, south London, had each denied conspiracy to supply cannabis between February 6 and April 12 last year.
Danielle Cooper, Wadsworth's barrister, denied her client had made a formal report to police and claimed the police intelligence document was riddled with errors.
The four buildings in St Agnes Place had been used as a Rastafarian temple since the 1970s, despite the council considering it an illegal squat. The Jamaican reggae star Bob Marley once visited.
During the raid in the early hours of April 12 last year officers used stun grenades. Police said they found drugs and live ammunition.
Lambeth council yesterday confirmed the buildings had been demolished. The council is proposing an "affordable, new-build development" on the site.

[MrG]

Originally Posted by enquirewithin

police sergeant Alf Sacre recognised the paralegal, Penny Wadsworth, from earlier inquiries and tracked down a document describing her telephone call about alleged drug dealing at the temple.

Bravo Alf!

Seriously, how easy would it have been for the police sergant to "forget" about Ms Wadsworth's complaint and allow the trial to continue unhindered.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of his personal belief's regarding drugs, you cannot deny that the guy has demonstrated an oustanding commitment to the law!

Give him a promotion, he's obviously pretty incorruptable!

[Pondlife]

Originally Posted by enquirewithin

The four buildings in St Agnes Place had been used as a Rastafarian temple since the 1970s, despite the council considering it an illegal squat.

During the raid in the early hours of April 12 last year officers used stun grenades.

Lambeth council yesterday confirmed the buildings had been demolished. The council is proposing an "affordable, new-build development" on the site.

I wonder if the drugs raid was mainly to allow Lambeth council to repossess the buildings and sell the land to a property developer? I wonder if Penny Wadsworth has any connection with the council?

[blackbastard]

Originally Posted by Pondlife

I wonder if the drugs raid was mainly to allow Lambeth council to repossess the buildings and sell the land to a property developer? I wonder if Penny Wadsworth has any connection with the council?

i dont doubt that there is something like this going on. with london housing prices what they were last year, the temple's land would be worth a pretty penny, swim heard

[Alfa]

This is a pretty bizarre story and I am sure that there is much more at play then meets they eye. Pondlife; I think you have hit the nail on the head. If anyone has more information, then this would be awesome.

St Agnes squat, Kennington 1969-2007

The Victorian terrace was first squatted way back in 1969 after the council bought up the properties as part of a scheme to extend Kennington Park (then known as Kennington District Park).

The plans involved the demolition of the buildings, but as the park expansion plans stuttered, the houses fell derelict before being completely rebuilt by squatters.

In 1977, an attempt to evict the squatters was successfully resisted on the rooftops, although several buildings were demolished or badly damaged during the battle. Damaged properties were promptly rebuilt by the squatters.

st-agnes-place-01.jpg

St Agnes Place, 18th May 2007.

Lambeth Council tried again in 2003, obtaining a possession order after the squatters failed to persuade the authorities of their case for adverse possession.

Threatened with 30 years of council tax bills, many residents moved out to be replaced by anti-capitalist, environmentalist and travellers who set up barricades. The first appearance by the bailiffs that year saw no attempt being made to to evict anyone.

st-agnes-place-02.jpg

St Agnes Place, 5th June 2007.

All was quiet until the Council returned in Autumn 2005 with a demolition order for the street and renewed warrants to execute the possession orders obtained in 2003.

The new warrants came via the High Court rather than the County Court, which meant that they could use riot police instead of bailiffs.

st-agnes-place-03.jpg

St Agnes Place, 10th July 2007.

On Tuesday, 30 November 2005 a massive eviction operation saw two hundred bailiffs and riot police successfully clear the remaining squatters, although one property remained in place.

Separated by some distance from the other houses in the street, the Rastafari temple remained for another year and a half, with the council expressing an interest in coming to an agreement to let the occupiers legally stay and pay rent/housing benefits.

st-agnes-place-04.jpg
Railing detail, St Agnes Place, 5th June 2007.

The temple was a place of genuine religious significance for Rastafari, and Bob Marley was said to have visited in the late 70s.

On the 12 April 2007, the temple was raided by the police, acting on intelligence - some of it apparently from the temple elders - that the building had been overrun by cannabis and crack cocaine dealers.

Demolition of the entire site was completed by mid 2007.

If anyone has contact with the people from St Agnes Place, then please invite them to tell us their story.

[MrG]

Originally Posted by Alfa

Pondlife; I think you have hit the nail on the head.

AHEM! - Excuuuuuuuuuse ME! http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/sho...ht=rastafarian

I think you'll find that *someone* else had already hammered that particular nail.

<toot><toot>

^^^^ My Trumpet.