(CMR) Former chairman of the National Housing Development Trust Geoffry William Ebanks (46) was freed on charges of breach of trust and conflict of interest on Thursday, 18 April, after a jury found him not guilty.
The two-week trial ended on Tuesday, with the judge recapping the evidence and directing the jury. After two days of deliberation, the jurors, six women and one man, returned the not-guilty verdict.
Ebanks was accused of diverting over 60 truckloads of soil from a government housing project site to his property without approval from the housing agency.
During the trial, Ebanks said that after transporting the material to Beacon Farms for three days, the processing area became full, and he decided to have the material transported to his property to prevent the project from stalling.
He said some of the material was used on his property but said he had no ill intentions when he did so.
“I will admit that I may have made a mistake, but I didn’t intentionally do anything to benefit myself in any way,” Ebanks told the court.
However, the prosecution accused Ebanks of intentionally redirecting truckloads of materials at a cost to the Housing Trust to his and his family's land instead of sending them to Beacon Farms.
They further alleged that Ebanks did not disclose his actions to the Housing Development Board during any meeting, suggesting he intended to breach protocol.
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