Following Bill Of Information That Defendants Be Transferred To Kakata Central Prison From Monrovia Central Prison
By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gmail.com
After listening to arguments pro and con for thirty minutes each Judge Roosevelt Z. Willie has set this Thursday, September 4,2025, to decide the legality of the evidence gathered from the personal cell phones of Defendants Thomas Etheridge and several others on December 20,2024.
Earlier, a motion to suppress evidence was filed by the defense team comprising Cllr. M. Wilkins Wright, Cllr. Arthur T. Johnson and Cllr. James Kumeh, Cllr. Jonathan Massaquoi and several others.
It also followed a Bill of Information to the court that prosecution transferred the defendants to the Kakata Central prison, because the Monrovia Central prison is overcrowded.
The court was packed to capacity with family members of the defendants, law school students, members of the public, some court staffers including lawyers to watch the proceedings.
A thirty-four count motion to suppress evidence filed by the defense team, says that extraction of the Defendants records in their various phones without the search warrant, which describe the discovery evidence from the Defendants’ phones and included seventy (72) persons in addition to the Defendants with said numbers to the NSA, specifically addressed to the Director of NSA, Brigadier General, Hon. Prince C. Johnson, III.
The defense team said, Extraction of evidence labeled NSA/CB-ARSON/2025/ETH/001 was evidence that were obtained, analyzed at the same time extracted from the property of the Defendants that are regarded under the law with the reasonable expectation of privacy in the absent of a writ of search and seizure.
All of these acts Your Honor, were carried out December 20, 2024 before the Writ of January 9, 2025 was issued and for this fundamental egregious action in evidence of discovery should be denied and suppressed as a matter of both statutory and constitutional.
According to defense lawyers, Prosecution also in its discovery evidence turned to the Defense a memorandum that purports to be an expert opinion report from the Liberia Petroleum Refinery Company (LPRC). Counsel says that this evidence should also be suppressed for the following reasons:
22.The LPRC lacks the statutory authority to conduct a forensic arson investigation. It is not an expert witness and cannot be.
They argued that the purported analysis failed to acknowledge and inform the Defendants that such analysis were being conducted: the Law in this jurisdiction states that every stage of a criminal investigation that tends to establish the guilt of an accused, the Defendant must be represented, evidenced in the Hans Williams and Madia Williams versus Government of Liberia, opinion decided 20124, the Court stated that every stage of an investigation and it named even an autopsy, the Defendant must be represented.
In this case, the purported analysis conducted by LPRC, the Defendants were never informed or represented at that stage.The “clora bottle” that was alleged to have been presented by the LNP to the LPRC lacks the chain of custody, it failed to state where the bottle was seen, where it was collected, who collected the bottle and preserved it, the date and time it was collected, who all came in possession of the said bottle to maintain the integrity of the evidence and for this defect, the said evidence should be suppressed.
The defense averred that LPRC Memorandum should also be suppressed because it was not an expert report because the expert report in any forensic criminal investigation generally must have the following elements: the title of the report, the instructions and scope of the report, the expert qualification or his/her credential conducting the investigation, the material received, the methodology employed in the investigation that regards the analysis of the said evidence, the observation, the results and interpretation, the discussion, the conclusion, the declaration and statement of the truth and their appendix.
Counsel says the purported LPRC investigation categorized by the Prosecution as an Expert Report should be suppressed.
In their motion, defense says, Prosecution evidence relied on the National Security Agency, Counsel says that the Act creating the National Security Agency, specifically the National Security Reform and Intelligence Act of 2011 as well as the Executive Law of Liberia, does not mandate the NSA to investigate Arson cases or Criminal Cases.
“When NSA as in the instant case conducts an Arson investigation, an authority that is not given to NSA by law, any product of that evidence or the evidence should be suppressed by law. Counsel calls Court attention to the Supreme Court Opinion, the case Cece Natif Gbaplay vs. the Republic of Liberia, decided July 23, 2009, the Supreme Court said “when an administrative agency like the NSA conducts a formal criminal investigation an authority that is not dedicated it expressly by the Act creating the NSA, when that action of the NSA is properly question before a Court it shall be declared Ultra Vires” defense team added.
The defense team further that His Honor Justice Kabineh Janneh speaking on behalf of the Supreme Court Bench.Counsel also asks Your Honor to take Judicial Notice of the Entire Discovery filed, the evidence show that all of the search and seizure and extraction of evidence in the arson case as labeled by category were done by the National Security Agency (NSA), not the LNP. Counsel respectfully informs Court to take Judicial Notice that the very Supreme Court has said that NSA cannot get involved in Criminal Investigation because it is the clandestine institution organized and established by law to conduct the following investigation: espionage, counter intelligence, treason investigation and other National Security Issues not criminal investigation as defined in the law creating the NSA.
Arguing further, the defense expressed that For these procedural, statutory and constitutional defects, the entire discovery evidence should be suppressed and should never be allowed to be used in this case against the Defendants,. Counsel asks Court for reliance, the Criminal Procedure Law Volume 1, Title 2, Chapter 11; the Constitution of Liberia, Article 21(b) search and Seizure; Cece Natif Gbaplay vs. RL, argued on March 17, 2009 and decided July 23, 2009; Josiah Rennes et al vs RL, decided July 14, 1989, search and seizure and finally Your Honor, the call log should also be suppressed for the following reasons: there is no evidence to show that before the call log of the Defendants and all of the other witnesses were obtained from the various cell phones companies to show that either this Court or any other Court authorized same.
Furthermore, The call logs of the Defendants are regarded also under the doctrine of the reasonable expectation for privacy to obtain the call log the prosecution is require to present in this discovery, the application for the writ of subpoena duces tecum and once that application is made, the Court shall issue the said Writ of Subpoena Duces Tecum and served on the various companies specifically indicating the particular cell numbers that information are sought to be received. In the instance case, there is no evidence of how the Liberia National Police under the Supervision of its Director went into the cell phone numbers and the call logs of the Defendants, this action is a constitutional breach as well as statutory, which evidence that the prosecution specifically the Liberia National police was engaged in the habit of intruding in the cell phone data of people without authorization of court. This is threatening. The defense team told court.
In resisting the motion, government lead lawyer Cllr. Richard Scott told to deny and dismiss the defense team motion for the following reasons;
That on December 20,2024 and January 9,2025, the prosecution through the Monrovia City Court issued a writ of search and seizure on approximately seventy-persons on interest for their cell phone including the name of other items to be searched and seized.
The prosecution argued that the National Security Agency had the right to investigate criminal matters based upon request from the Justice Ministry which was done contrary to what the defense is pushing.
Prosecution further argued that the allegations of torture and sodomy being alleged by the defense team, should be prove by medical records and at no time the defendants have tortured because its against human rights violations and more besides, the arson defendants are not the only people in pre-trial dentition.
According to Cllr, Scott, this same motion to suppress evidence was filed before the magisterial court with all of its contents but was denied which led the defense lawyers taking flight to Criminal Court A.
As to the allegation that the LRPC expert analyzing the Clora bottle and identified the substance to gasoline, prosecution says, the defense team should the trial to proceed where they will have that excessive time to cross examine the witness to know his qualifications.
The prosecution prayed court to dismiss and deny the defense motion and grant unto them all other relief that might be just and legal.
In another development, the court has ordered state prosecutors to have the defendants return to the Monrovia Central prison, in order for the defendants to have access to their legal team.
This followed a bill of information to the court that prosecution transferred the defendants to the Kakata Central prison because the Monrovia Central prison is overcrowded.