Jonathan Lehrer, an American who is accused of the murder of Quebec entrepreneur Daniel Langlois and his wife Dominique Marchand last December in Dominica, will have to remain in prison, the High Court ruled Thursday.
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His request for bail filed on April 8 was ultimately refused by Judge Colin Williams who heard the case in camera, we learned.
Behind bars since his arrest, shortly after the death of the Quebec couple, the 57-year-old man had made this request to the High Court for “medical reasons”. He wanted to return to Texas for treatment.
No valid reason
“Justice Williams decided, after hearing arguments on Monday April 8, that there were no good grounds for granting bail to the applicant and that the conditions of the Bail Act do not had not been fulfilled,” explained the director of the public prosecution, Sherma Dalrymple.
She said the decision “focused heavily on the public interest.” Another application for release on bail could still be made if there is a change in circumstances, she said when asked about it.
During Monday’s hearing, residents of the community of Soufrière, where the two Quebecers were very involved, expressed their dissatisfaction in court regarding the bail request.
CARLISLE JNO BAPTISTE / QMI AGENCY
A trial for September?
The prosecution intends to have the trial begin next September “because we are going back to court to present the charging cases in July,” Dalrymple said.
Evidence against the defendants was to be made available to the defense by June 18.
The trial of Mr. Lehrer and his alleged accomplice Robert Snyder Jr had already fallen behind schedule. Initially scheduled for March 24, a delay of eight to 10 weeks was added after a request for disclosure of the case by one of the defense lawyers.
The preliminary investigation was also adjourned until July 16 due to Robert Snyder Jr. testing positive for COVID-19.
The former neighbor of Daniel Langlois and Dominique Marchand is accused of having orchestrated their murder since they were found lifeless in a burned vehicle near their Coulibri Ridge hotel complex on December 1.
Owner of the Bois Cotlette chocolate factory, the American had been in conflict for several years with the Quebec entrepreneur over the use of the Morne Rouge public road, which allows access to the Hôtel des Québécois via his land. .
Caught in this dispute, the two men went to the island’s highest court, which ruled in 2019 that the road was public and that Mr. Langlois’ clients could use it freely.