Jasmine Hartin’s drugs and assault case has been further adjourned; attorney says she wants to put matter behind her

By Aaron Humes: Yet another adjournment has been issued in the case of Jasmine Hartin for common assault and possession of controlled drugs, moved from San Pedro Town to Belize City.

As attorney Arthur Saldivar explains, “I was hoping that we would have been able to dispose of the common assault matter, as from what I was able to ascertain from the evidence brought before the court, it was a bogus charge, incapable of being sustained on the facts, but we were unable to get that done because of an issue affecting the prosecutor in the matter.” The Head of Prosecution Branch, Alifa Elrington, remains ill and out of the country.

Saldivar argued that the testimony of the complainant does not appear to him helpful in sustaining the charge.

The case is further adjourned for April 22.

Saldivar explained that Hartin appeared virtually from the Turks and Caicos Islands, where she is challenging custody of her two children with Andrew Ashcroft. The court has granted permission for this and Hartin, Saldivar said, has not breached any condition of her bail.

Saldivar also discussed the topic of outstanding community service issued as part of her judgment last year by former High Court Justice Ricardo O’Neil Sandcroft: “We must bear in mind that in Belize this has been novel; we have not really had at the [High Court] level any orders prior to hers where community service was required…an order was made but nothing was put in place to have the order effected.”

He continued that the record $75,000 fine has been paid and the public service announcement on the issue of gun control and alcohol use completed, but the management of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) has indicated they have no use for Hartin – they were the organization ordered to accommodate her 300 hours as ordered by the court. Saldivar said he hopes to get this waived or varied by the High Court, as it remains binding and if not completed would result in jail time.

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