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Jasmin Hartin's Day In Court

Jasmine Hartin today pleaded guilty to Manslaughter by negligence of Superintendent of Police Henry Jemmott, She did that in Supreme Court today and 7News was there every step of the way. We begin with what happened this morning:

The proceedings in the case of the Crown vs. Jasmine Hartin for manslaughter by negligence of Henry Jemmott were set to resume this morning.

The first attorney to the court was Oscar Selgado who had technically been fired but was there to hand over to Senior Attorney Hubert Elrington.

And indeed, despite the fact that her Belizean attorney Hubert Elrington was late, it started in earnest and with a bit of dramatics:

STANDUP
We're bringing you the latest from the Jasmine Hartin trial, the trial for manslaughter by negligence in which Ms Hartin will find out whether she will receive a fine, and will receive jail time. And we the public are waiting to find out if she will enter a guilty plea, we entered court just now and the court was adjourned until 10:30 this morning but, shockingly, Justice Ricardo Sandcroft decreed that no family members were on either side, so either Henry Jemmott's side or Jasmine Hartin's side would be allowed inside the courtroom.

It's left Henry Jemmott's sister Marie devastated and she has been here visibly crying about the fact that she may not be allowed to observe justice being done.

But at the appointed time Marie Jemmott and her sister Vidalia disregarded that instruction and went into court anyway. They were later told that moving forward they would not be allowed to wear T-shirts bearing Henry Jemmott's image because the judge said that he had to quote: "remain dispassionate." They have appeared at every single court date and worn the t-shirts every single time.

In court, Hartin was presented with the DPP's additional evidence and asked to enter a plea, then and there, but, Hubert Elrington, on the Instruction of his Canadian colleague instead requested an adjournment.

Hartin's concern in taking a guilty plea is that it would affect her in her ongoing custody case with Andrew Ashcroft. But by 11:30 court had been adjourned again and with that Hartin's entourage left to make their deliberations.

STANDUP
There has been yet another adjournment in this particular court date for Jasmine Hartin. It seems that the court would like Ms Hartin to plea, today. She has said that she needs to seek. Instruction from her foreign attorneys and not just for Mr Elrington who is representing her here. We also understand that the DPP entered some additional evidence this morning. This means that finally after all these months full disclosure has been given.

She may enter a plea today and we do expect that to be a guilty plea. It seems things are moving very fast now and once that plea is entered it could be just a few weeks until Hartin is sentenced. Because the cause is manslaughter by negligence it is expected that she will be fined and not confined.

Hartin Pleads Guilty

And promptly at 3:00 pm when the second part of the day's proceedings kicked off, Justice Sandcroft indicated that while a social Inquiry into Jasmine Hartin's past behaviour had been requested, the court had no understanding that it had ever been completed.

That Social Inquiry Report is one of the elements that Sandcroft told the court he will need in order to hand down a sentence, the others being an early plea, remorse, mitigating factors, no previous or recent convictions, the victim impact statements from Henry Jemmott's family and the aggravating factor of Henry Jemmott's death.

Cherisse Halsall was in court all afternoon and tonight she brings us this story.

Proceedings picked up right where they left off this afternoon but lasted much longer than expected because while Hartin ultimately took a guilty plea, her attorneys seemed to have to wrestle it out of her in the deliberation room.

And, once proceedings had ended we spoke to assisting attorney O.J. Elrington who provided the rationale behind the plea.

O.J. Elrington, Attorney-At-Law
"She was considering her options and after deliberation after council by senior council Hubert Elrington and myself and after taking all things into consideration especially I can tell you heavy on her heart in considering was to not put the family of the victim through the anguish of having to go through a trial proceeding so she, she consistently expressed her concern about that and therefore found that, that it was necessary at this point in time to take the guilty plea and to for all parties involved to move on."

"Once it is that. He has made that indication, he is now, restricted, and restrained, arrested from making any other type of declaration at his sentence, at his actual sentencing."

"Determining whether or not to plead guilty to an offence is a serious consideration and our client obviously had just requested the sentence indication hearing and had the sentence indication hearing today."

"I don't know if there can ever be a victory, nobody ever wins in a situation like this, the only thing that can happen is that the parties involved can now get the opportunity to move on with their lives."

And that's just what Hartin said as walked away after entering that guilty plea.

Jasmine Hartin, Plead Guilty to Manslaughter by Negligence
"I just want Henry's family to have peace now and I want this whole thing to be behind all of us, so we can heal."

The question now is whether that non-custodial sentence is guaranteed, here's how Elrington answered that:

O.J. Elrington, Attorney-At-Law
"Once it is that he today said that he will give a non-custodial sentence and all the case law says that. A guilty plea to a matter at this point in the proceedings shows that it should have a fine as opposed to confinement he is limited to a fine, however, the quantum of that fine is where he would still have great attitude and as he indicated in the court he would have to go to further research to have to determine the quantum of that fine and that will be determined as well as you have heard before based on submissions that will be made later on. I believe our submissions are due back by the 26th of May as to what will be the quantum of those either fine or compensation or either of the two."

"One of the considerations that the court does consider in terms of the quantum of consideration is whether the family has been compensated before so obviously those are going to be things that are going to be in our submissions that the family is currently being compensated and so that will be a consideration of the court."

STANDUP
We will be back on the 26th when there are final submissions and we will be back on the 31st when Jasmine Hartin is finally sentenced.

Justice Sandcroft has indicated that should Hartin be fined, she will have one year to pay the fine.

The Jemmott family declined to comment but an attorney for the family has reached out to 7 News to indicate that the civil claim for wrongful death/negligence against Jasmine Hartin has, quote: "not been settled and remains pending before the High Court for determination." end quote.

Channel 7

Hartin's Canadian Attorney Not Consulted on Guilty Plea

Jasmine Hartin, she walked away from court yesterday in tears after making a guilty plea to manslaughter by negligence of Henry Jemmott. It's an unexpected and abrupt conclusion to what was expected to be a long drawn out legal battle.

But instead, all that's left is Hartin's May 31st sentencing.

And while we brought you all the highs and lows of yesterday's guilty plea, we wanted to hear from the man who Hartin said is really running the show, her Canadian attorney who's yet to be called to the bar in Belize, Seth Weinstein.

He spoke to Cherisse Halsall via Zoom this morning and provided what by his own admission is his limited understanding of yesterday's proceedings.

Cherisse Halsall:
"Sir, really the first thing I wanted to ask you is about the strategy going into yesterday's proceedings because we understand that it was merely slated for case management but then the legal team urges Hartin to plea."

Seth Weinstein, Attorney, Greenspan, Humphrey Weinstein, LLP
"I can't really comment on the strategy at this point because I wasn't there and certainly my understanding was that this was a case management meeting and, and with a, my understanding was that it was going to be for. A sentence indication in terms of what transpired from there, ugh, I wasn't involved so I can't really comment at this point."

Cherisse Halsall:
"Really, another question I have for you of course because I know that you have been attempting to be called to the Belizean bar, and I'm sure it was indicated to you that that should have been a simple process once a senior council had called you to the bar, how has that gone and why is it that that was not done before this court date?"

Seth Weinstein, Attorney, Greenspan, Humphrey Weinstein, LLP
"Again, I don't know, I certainly have been making efforts to get called, I've understood, and it's been explained by somebody that it was simple and by others that it wasn't so simple, so I don't know what prevented it from happening at this point,um, but I have not yet been called."

"Ms. Hartin has, her primary objective was not to put the Jemmott family through a trial and she recognizes their suffering and as a credit to her she did not want to have them suffering for her and then the other aspect of this is that it's very clear that the DPP has accepted her position, Jasmine's position from the beginning that this was an accident and that is what I do understand became clear yesterday and that the DPP acknowledged that on record but in terms of strategies I simply can't comment because I am not, I have not been briefed as yet."

Attorney Expects Non Custodial Sentence for Hartin

But what was it that brought Hartin to tears? Was it the gravity of a guilty plea, or the pressure from her attorneys to make a decision immediately following her sentence indication?

Well, this morning 7News learned that it wasn't either of those things and it in fact had to do with the additional evidence that DPP Cheryl-Lyn Vidal entered right before the plea. Among that evidence was a statement from Hartin's former partner Andrew Ashcroft, one that allegedly spoke to his opinions on her proficiency with a gun and her state of inebriation on the night in question.

It's all part and parcel of the package that Justice Sandcroft will have to consider ahead of sentencing. And while he has almost guaranteed a non-custodial sentence, we have to wonder if that is completely set in stone.

Cherisse Halsall put that question to Attorney Seth Weinstein this morning:

Cherisse Halsall:
"And every Belizean wants to know this, we heard yesterday that the judge had pretty much committed himself to a non-custodial sentence, based on your experience of Commonwealth law is there any room, where this judge after reading a victim statement from the family then make a decision to say, I think because of the weight of this Victim statement this woman should do some minor time maybe even one year in prison?"

Seth Weinstein, Attorney, Greenspan, Humphrey Weinstein, LLP
"Certainly, and I obviously can't speak to Belizean case law, my understanding is that a non-custodial sentence is entirely within the range of prior sentences in Belize and although a victim's impact is a relevant consideration certainly in my experience, I have not and I can only speak from a Canadian viewpoint I have never seen a victim impact statement carry such weight that it would take what would be a very appropriate sentence and take it outside of that range of sentences, so I haven't seen that."

Jasmine Hartin will return to court on May 26th and May 31st for final submissions and sentencing respectively.

Channel 7

Jasmine Hartin Blasted By Her Ex In Statement To Court

Tonight, 7News has unearthed new evidence in the Crown vs. Jasmine Hartin for the Manslaughter of Henry Jemmott.

It's a statement from Andrew Ashcroft which speaks to his recollections of the night Henry Jemmott was killed. In the statement Ashcroft claims that his former partner Jasmine Hartin had quote: " been drinking heavily and had started consuming alcohol while getting ready to attend [a] party and continued doing so at the party."end quote.

He goes on to say that when Hartin, who, by that time he believed to be, quote: "very drunk" asked him to accompany her downstairs to visit with Superintendent Henry Jemmott. Ashcroft says he declined, and instead chose to stay with his children in the family apartment.

And that by 1 am when he was awoken to hear of a shooting accident he rushed down to the beach to find Jasmine Hartin quote: " Standing in front of the Mata Rocks Pier covered in Blood." end quote.

The statement continues discussing what Ashcroft's claims is his awareness of his former partner's knowledge of firearms. He says quote: "I am aware that she once held a Canadian hunting and fishing license which allowed her to be in possession of a firearm."

He also says that he and Hartin would often accompany friends and (at least on one occasion) BATSUB personnel to the north of Ambergris Caye for shooting practice. It's on those trips he claims that Harting, quote: "learned to load guns with ammunition and shoot." end quote.

Finally in what is perhaps the most scathing of Aschroft's allegations, at least for a mother fighting for custody, he claims that Jasmine Hartin had misfired a gun before, and that she'd done it off their apartment balcony while he and their children were sitting by the pool.

But Ashcroft isn't the only one speaking out. Hartin too has come back against his claims telling 7News in a press release tonight that this 11th hour statement has not been admitted into evidence by the court.

She then responds to the allegations of her first accidental shooting by saying quote, "This accusation was proven to be false when Mr. Pech, a former Grand Colony security guard, took the stand,(during the couple's custody fight) to say that no such incident had occurred because Hartin has never touched his gun."

She then goes on to speak on her former partner's allegations of her "drunken staten" on the night she committed manslaughter by negligence according to Hartin, Ashcroft wasn't present while she was getting ready and so could not speak to whether or not she's been drinking prior to going out.

Another point of contention: that Canadian fishing license that allows the holder to operate a gun, according to Hartin it's standard fare for any recreational fisher in Canada and can be acquired for the equivalent $20USD for a one day fishing trip without even sitting through a training course.

Hartin's statement concludes by claiming that she has never owned a firearm and has only been seen to shoot one on three occasions, once at a Las Vegas bachelor party and twice in the recreational shooting videos shot and according to her "likely distributed" by Andrew Ashcroft.

Channel 7

Jasmine Hartin leaves Belize after being temporarily detained for failure to produce fine payment receipt

Canadian national Jasmine Hartin has been released from police custody after being detained for almost 24 hours at the Corozal Town police station. On Tuesday, June 6th, she was detained at the northern border, trying to cross into Mexico with a Canadian emergency travel document. Officers at the border questioned the travel document. They asked Hartin if she had paid the $75,000 fine she had been ordered to pay as part of her May 31st sentencing for the shooting death of Police Superintendent Henry Jemmott. Hartin could not produce a receipt, and thus not allowed to leave the country, and was placed into custody.

Hartin and her public relations team explained that although she had a year to pay the fine, full payment had been wired to her attorney Orson Elrington following the court instructions. However, she could not produce proof of payment and was placed in a cell after that. On Wednesday morning, June 7th, Hartin's representatives got a hold of the receipt showing the amount in full of the $75,000. The receipt showed that payment was made that same day. Elrington explained that payment had been made some days earlier. However, the bank took a couple of days to process the funds, thus the delay. Despite providing a receipt of payment, Hartin remained detained for most of the day on Wednesday. Another issue she faced was the legitimacy of her emergency travel document. Its authenticity was confirmed by the Canadian Consulate in Belize. Hartin's representatives explained that Hartin could not wait until the release of her passport to travel out of the country, because she has a matter of absolute importance to tend to abroad.

Click here to read the rest of the article in the San Pedro Sun