Minister David Patterson’s statement on brother’s arrest in Grenada for alleged cocaine trafficking

Last Updated on Thursday, 17 May 2018, 22:16 by Denis Chabrol

As 47-year old Derrick Patterson remained on remand in a Grenadian prison pending trial for alleged cocaine trafficking, his brother- Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson- Thursday night said he and his family believed that Derrick must bear “full responsibility” for the alleged crime.

“Our position is that Derrick is a matured adult of 47 years and he must bear full responsibility for the consequences of his actions. Neither I nor any other member of my family can take responsibility for his own, deliberate actions” Minister Patterson said.

The Minister thankef many members of the public across Guyana, diaspora and the political divide “who have reached out to me to personally offer me their support and solidarity at this sensitive time for my family and I.”

Derrick Patterson was charged with Trafficking of a Controlled Drug after a total of 2.325 kg of Cocaine with a street value of $232,500.00 was found in his possession last week.

He was arrested by agents of the Drug Squad of the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) when they intercepted a vehicle travelling in the vicinity of Springs on May 2 in which he was the driver.

The vehicle was searched and the drugs were found inside of a plastic bag.

Patterson is due to reappear in court on May 24.

Following is the full text of the Minister’s statement.

“In light of the arrest of my brother, Derrick Patterson in Grenada, I wish to make the following statement:

Members of my family were shocked to learn of Derrick’s arrest. My mother, my sisters and I are deeply distressed and concerned and are anxious to learn the full details of this unpleasant development.

Our position is that Derrick is a matured adult of 47 years and he must bear full responsibility for the consequences of his actions. Neither I nor any other member of my family can take responsibility for his own, deliberate actions.

While we hold out hope that there may have been a mistake, he must face the consequences if he is found guilty in a court of law. We have no reason to believe that he will not be treated fairly by the Grenadian legal system.
As a family, we will give him all support we legally can, but we will not condone any proven illegal conduct. I believe that every reasonable member of the public would understand our position.

As a Minister of Government, I would like to assure the Guyanese public that I have not and will not attempt to influence the outcome of these serious allegations made against my brother in any way whatsoever. This is the principled position which I firmly embrace and ought to be a lesson to many under a previous dispensation who, it is widely known, regularly interfered with the course of justice in matters involving their family members, friends and even acquaintances.

To those who have already sought to exploit this matter to score political points I wish to advise that I will play no part in contributing to that effort. Their attempts are nothing more than an attempt to detract attention from the work this government has been doing to develop a prosperous Guyana.

Having provided these assurances, I do not intend to provide a running commentary on every development that follows in this matter or to respond to every attack from political detractors.

The infrastructural challenges facing this country that this coalition government inherited are real and I intend to continue to focus my energies and attention on the job I have been doing for the past 3 years on behalf of the people of Guyana – planning and building for the bright future awaiting them.

Finally I wish to thank the many members of the public across Guyana, diaspora and the political divide who have reached out to me to personally offer me their support and solidarity at this sensitive time for my family and I.”