A HIGH COURT judge has ordered compensation for a woman who was charged with possession of illegal narcotics and ammunition allegedly found on the premises of the apartment she occupied with her husband and children in 2015.
On Monday, Justice Frank Seepersad found there was malice on the part of the officers who charged Stephanie Sahadeo as, he said, there was insufficient material for them to lay the three charges of possession of marijuana and cocaine for trafficking and possession of ammunition.
“There was simply no evidence which created any nexus between this claimant and the exhibit which was found and, in those circumstances, the court is prepared to infer that there was malice in this case. These charges ought not to have been proffered against the claimant. There is no evidence before this court that there was any information relative to this claimant and her association with the commission of any criminal offence,” the judge said as he ordered the State to pay aggravated and exemplary damages.
He also said accepted Sahadeo’s evidence of the traumatic and emotional effect the incident had on her as well as the negative effect it had on her quality of life as she testified although the charges against her were dismissed in the magistrates' court in 2020, she was denied a US Visa in 2022.
In assessing the evidence, the judge said there were several inconsistencies and discrepancies in the testimony of the three officers who gave evidence at the malicious prosecution trial.
He said while the drugs and ammunition were allegedly found concealed in the garage to the side of the dwelling, there was no evidence that she had knowledge the items were there or that she had control of them.
Seepersad said even the information the charging officer had when he executed a search warrant on the house on April 15, 2015, did not refer to her.
Sahadeo was arrested after she went to the police station the day after her husband was arrested.
She was not at home when the police allegedly found the drugs with the help of police dogs. Seepersad said the police officer who laid the charges knew several people were living in the house. The house was owned by her in-laws.
He also said since she was married to a police officer, it should have crossed his mind that the drugs could have been planted there as the property was not completely enclosed.
According to her claim, Sahadeo said she attended the magistrates’ court 33 times before the matter was dismissed on a no-case submission. The charges against her husband were also dismissed.
After she was charged, Sahadeo was temporarily suspended as an executive assistant for a vice president of a State entity but eventually reinstated.
Representing Sahadeo were attorneys Amy Harripaul, Genevive Thompson and Petronilla Basdeo while Stefan Jaikaran represented the State.
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