Minister Musa Addresses Gang Convictions and Recent Acquittals

The police department has been able to increase the number of persons convicted of being a gang member, according to Minister of Home Affairs, Kareem Musa. This month, notorious brothers, Tyrone Ellis, and Shaquille Meighan were acquitted of the charge of being a member of a gang due to the lack of sufficient evidence. Despite the testimony of police officers and prison guards, the men were not convicted. Given that the men are no strangers to the law, Musa was asked if the police failed to put together a solid case against them. However, he says while the men were able to beat the charge, many others have been convicted. 

Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs: “I think you’re looking at one particular case and it’s not good to always paint that brush right across the system. I can tell you for a fact that we have more convictions for gang charges than we do non convictions, acquittals. And so I think you’re referring to the most recent case that was publicized in the media but certainly that does not mean that across the board we’re having less convictions. We do have a majority of those cases resulting in convictions.”

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecution says it will be appealing the ruling.