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Liberia news

Court rejects new trial for convicts

Presiding Criminal Court “C” Judge Emery S. Paye has refused to grant a new trial in favor of convicted Guaranty Trust or GT – Bank Liberiaemployees Stanley Yorsee and MontmorancyYancy, confirming a jurypanel’s unanimous guilty verdict over the defendants’ misuse ofcustomers’ deposits.

Convicts Yorsee and Yancy were prosecuted and found guilty on chargesof misapplication of entrusted property, theft of property andcriminal conspiracy for loaning out Total Liberia’s deposits in the tune of US$126,219.00 without GT – Bank Management’s approval.

Judge Paye ordered the Probation Services here to conduct apre-sentence investigation and present a report to the court not laterthan seven working days after which the court shall sentencedefendants Yorsee and Yancy.

He said on Thursday, 6 October that the court was “reluctant” todisturb the jury’s unanimous guilty verdict, having earlier said themotion for new trial cannot be sustained by the court. After receiving the jury’s verdict last month, the convicts argued ina motion for new trial that State witness Emmanuel Togba in whosefavor prosecution dropped charges, had testified in court that defendant Yancy had told him to take away a ledger from the Bulk Roombased on defendant Yorsee’s instruction.

The convict’s contention was that witness Togba did not inquire fromdefendant Yorsee as to whether he did give the instruction. As such,the defendants claimed that jurors’ guilty verdict was against the weight of the evidence adduced at the trial.

But the prosecutors did not agree on such argument, rather telling thecourt in a resistance to the motion for new trial that the testimoniesrelied upon were not against the weight of the evidence adduced attrial.

Judge Paye ruled Thursday that the court was in agreement with theprosecution, recalling that defendant Yancy testified that “he and hisbossman, Stanley Yorsee, wanted to destroy evidence by taking away theregistry/ Bulk Log from the Bulk Room because they were makingbusiness with total Liberia’s Deposits of USD126,219.00”.

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Judge Paye said although Yorsee denied the allegation levied againsthim by defendant Yancy, he however failed to support his denial by theproduction of evidence. In addition, the Judge said the defendants failed and neglected tohave taken exception to the jury verdict, coupled with theadmissibility of the Bulk Log/ registry.

By Winston W. Parley

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