Resident Magistrate Anmarie Nembhard then determined that Bernard should be freed, and declared that a no order be handed down in the case.

The corruption charges arose from an incident in 2006, when the policeman was accused of collecting money from a motorist. A report was made to anti-corruption investigators and a sting operation was set up during which he was held. The director of public prosecutions ruled that he be charged with breaches of the Corruption Prevention Act, and he was tried and convicted in 2008. He, however, appealed the conviction and was granted a retrial.

Inspector Lloyd Wilson and constables Derrick Roach and Jermaine Bennett, all previously assigned to the Central Police Station, were charged with murder for the fatal shooting of Blake in premises along Ransford Road in downtown Kingston. They asserted that they went in search of Blake, and were forced to defend themselves after being fired upon by him. At the time of his demise, Blake was wanted on a number of charges, including murder.

One of the witness’ statements reportedly substantiated the defendants’ version of how Blake met his demise, while the missing witness (who happened to be  Blake’s common-law wife), did not say in her statements that she witnessed the actual shooting incident. As a result of these factors, the Crown noted that the case could not be tried by way of the Evidence Amendment Act (which allows trials to proceed on the written statements of absent eyewitnesses), and noted that it therefore had no evidence against the men.