'Brown ... is charged with unlawful possession of property, fraudulent use of license plates, receiving stolen property and two counts of breaches of the Corruption Prevention Act.'

Ex-corporal of police, Daemion Brown was granted bail in the sum of $300,000 with surety in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court after his sister told the court that he would reside at the family home in St Elizabeth.

The court had adjourned the matter two weeks ago to confirm Brown's address as the court was informed that he had two addresses. The conditions of his bail include reporting to the Siloah Police Station on Wednesdays and Saturdays; surrendering travel documents and a stop order imposed at all ports across the island.

The matter is set for mention on June 4 for defence attorney, Earnest Smith, who was recently retained in the matter, to be served copies of the statement. A trial date will also be set on that time. Attorney-at-law Morrel Beckford, who was Brown's attorney on the last occasion, therefore asked that his name be removed from the record.

charges

Brown, who was attached to the Coral Gardens Police Station in Montego Bay when he resigned from the force, is charged with unlawful possession of property, fraudulent use of license plates, receiving stolen property and two counts of breaches of the Corruption Prevention Act. He resigned from the force in January and has since become a farmer. He was arrested in March following a ruling from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Allegations are that, on December 1, 2007, the complainant was driving along Ironshore when the police stopped him. Brown, who was with two other policemen, approached the complainant and after checking his documents, told the complainant that the car was a stolen car. As a result, they drove to the Coral Gardens Police Station where Brown allegedly solicited $200,000 for the complainant's release. When the complainant was unable to pay, Brown took him to the Freeport lock-ups where he spent two days. The complainant was released without a charge after his girlfriend allegedly paid Brown $150,000. However, the complainant was told that the owner of the car had retrieved the vehicle and took it to Kingston.

stolen car as gift

The court heard that Brown was questioned by a senior officer about the incident and allegedly admitted that the car was at a friend's house. The vehicle was subsequently recovered and taken to the Freeport Police Station on January 4, 2008.

Further allegations are that he drove a blue Toyota Corolla to the Freeport Police Station where he was scheduled for an interview with members of the Anti-Corruption branch. Investigations were carried out on that vehicle and it was revealed that the car was stolen and the plates belonged to a woman in Kingston. However, the accused said the car belong to his cousin in St Elizabeth.

In June and August last year, a blue 2003 Corolla and a silver Toyota Corolla were reported stolen from locations in St Mary and Kingston, respectively. During operations in Coral Gardens on January 3, both were recovered at Brown's premises. It is alleged that he had given one of the cars to his girlfriend as a gift.

It is also alleged that, on January 14, the police were conducting spot checks along the Coral Gardens main road when they stopped a grey Toyota Corolla. The driver was unable to produce the documents for the vehicle as he claims that the person he bought the car from had the documents. After further investigations, the police were led to Brown who failed to give a satisfactory explanation as to how he came to be in possession of the vehicle.