THE VALLEY, Anguilla — It could take up to three years for the Connecticut banker charged with killing a hotel worker in Anguilla to even get a trial on the tiny Caribbean island, which only has one judge, sources said Thursday.
Gavin Scott Hapgood, 44, has repeatedly said he hopes he’ll get a swift trial — but the UBS financial adviser faces a lengthy legal road ahead.
“We all want the same thing — justice,” Hapgood said following a court appearance Thursday, where his case was adjourned. “For me, that means proving my innocence and at that end, I ask the attorney general to bring a case swiftly so we all can move on and heal.”
But before his trial date can be set, prosecutors must present their case in magistrates court in what’s called a preliminary inquiry — a process similar to a grand jury, that sources say can take two to three years on average.
That’s because there are only two magistrates on the small island of 15,000 people — and their dockets are usually booked up, the sources said.
Both prosecutors and the defense will call witnesses to testify about the violent April 13 struggle that left Kenny Mitchel, a 27-year-old resort hand, dead.
Once that prolonged process is over, the magistrate decides whether the case goes to trial in high court, or is effectively dismissed.
“The only assessment is whether there’s a case to answer in the high court,” said Devin Hodge, a local barrister of law with Astaphan’s Chambers.
In high court, criminal cases are generally only heard in October and March during intervals known as assizes, said Hodge, who wouldn’t comment specifically on Hapgood’s case.
The only judge on the island, Judge Shawn Innocent, presides over the high court and can apply for the assizes to be extended through a formal process that requires permission from the Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.
Judge Innocent has applied for these extensions in the past to improve efficiency, Hodge said.
The preliminary inquiry in Hapgood’s case is set to begin Sept. 9.
The dad of three has maintained that he was defending his daughters, then aged 11 and 13, from Mitchel, whom he claimed came to his family’s room at the five-star Malliouhana hotel on April 13, wielding a knife and demanding money.
A toxicology report showed that Mitchel had cocaine and alcohol in his system when he died.
A death certificate said Mitchel died “due to prone restraint, positional asphyxia and blunt force trauma to the head, neck and torso.”
Along with family members, a number of politicians have spoken out in defense of the victim.
Additional reporting by Tamar Lapin in New York