Antigua MP faces criminal charge

Michael Browne

Embattled Member of Parliament for All Saints West Michael Browne has denied committing the criminal charge levied against him.

The 44-year-old accused was arrested and charged in November last year. Those charges cannot be disclosed for legal reasons.

In April 2021, Magistrate Ngaio Emanuel-Edwards declared that there is sufficient evidence against Browne to commit the matter to be tried in the higher court sometime after September. But the matter was then adjourned to be mentioned on November 5, 2021.

During the committal proceedings at the Magistrate’s Court, the prosecution tendered six pieces of evidence which will be used against Browne in trial.

Those exhibits include WhatsApp messages, call records, screenshots from Facebook Messenger with photos, etc. The documents were verified by both Browne and his lawyer, Jarid Hewlett, who made no objections.

The prosecution also indicated that there are eight witnesses that could potentially be called in the MP’s trial.

He was granted bail in the sum of $15,000 with a $6,000 cash component when he made his first appearance in the All-Saints Magistrate’s Court in late November 2020.

The MP was also ordered to surrender his travel documents, and report to the police three times every week.