St Catherine man released after five days in custody without charge

A St Catherine man who had been held at the Portmore police lock-up for five days without being charged has been freed by a parish court judge.

Roger Moore was released on Friday.

In making an application, attorney-at-law Denise Hinson told the court that her client had been in custody since November 23 despite no formal charge being laid against him.

According to Hinson, the matter stemmed from an incident in July 2025 when Moore was employed as a painter at a residence where a sum of money reportedly went missing.

“He was taken into custody and subsequently released without charge,” the attorney explained.

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“Recently, he bought a car, and the police again arrested him on the same complaint.”

The court was told that multiple attempts to resolve the issue had proven futile.

After hearing the submission, Senior Parish Court Judge Desiree Alleyne ruled that Moore’s detention violated Section 5(4)(1) of the Bail Act, which requires that a person be charged or released within 48 hours unless the matter involves murder or another scheduled offence.

Moore was subsequently ordered released from custody.

- Rasbert Turner