ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – High Court judge, Justice Davidson Baptiste, Monday denied bail to double murder accused, Jonathan Lehrer, on gun-related charges.
The 57-year-old American national is charged with “trafficking firearms and unlawfully importing 1 Mac 11- 9MM Treaded barrel, 144 9X19 MM ammunition, 1-IWI 25 rounds capacity 9MM Magazine; 3 IWI 32 rounds capacity 9MM magazine, 3 Glock 9MM 15 rounds capacity magazine, and 3 Glock 9MM 10 rounds capacity magazine. The incident took place on December 4, 2023.
Senior Magistrate Michael Laudat had earlier denied Lehrer bail, stating “that it was not in the public interest to grant him bail.
His attorney had filed a certificate of urgency, arguing that “the charge of trafficking is a colorable device utilized by the Defendants to secure the continued incarceration of the Claimant and deny him access to medical attention overseas as permitted by the High Court in his grant of bail in November 2024.
“The High Court is therefore called upon to urgently hear and determine this further Application for the grant of Bail, both based on the Court’s first Order granting bail and the enforcement of the Claimant’s fundamental rights,” they argued.
But the State opposed the granting of bail on the firearms charges, just as it did in the double murder charges.
Lehrer and 62-year-old Robert Snyder Jr, another American national, were charged with the murders of animation pioneer and Canadian philanthropist Daniel Langlois and his longtime partner, Dominique Marchand, 58.
The Americans were not required to enter a plea in the magistrate’s court, since murder is an indictable offence and can only be tried before a judge and jury at the High Court.
The prosecution alleges that between November 29 and December 2, 2023, the two Americans murdered Langlois and Marchand. Their bodies were found incinerated in a car near Gallion, in the south of the island, where they owned a hotel. Langlois and Marchand had been reported missing for several days.
Last year, Lehrer, through his lawyers, had applied for bail on “medical grounds” to travel to the United States, but that was denied.
Justice Colin Williams had outlined several conditions last year under which bail could be granted to Lehrer. They include a one-million-dollar (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) bond with a proper and suitable surety. In addition, the murder accused must revoke his US Citizenship, and he must satisfy the Registrar of the High Court that he has met all the conditions set out by the court.
His surety must have “total control over him,” and he must first secure the approval of the High Court before he travels. He is also to report to the Grand Bay Police Station, south of here, as part of his bail conditions.
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