ROSEAU, Dominica, Mar 2, CMC -Prosecutors utilising a section of the Bail Act Monday were successful in having a magistrate court deny bail to a medical doctor who is charged with attempted murder and discharging of a firearm in a public space.
The prosecution led by attorney Kevin Julien, successfully argued against Dr. Theodore Thomas being released on EC$75,000 (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) bail, that had originally being granted to him during the proceedings by Chief Magistrate, Michael Laudat.
In January, Dr. Thomas pleaded not guilty to the charge of attempting to murder Athena Dodds as well as discharging a firearm within 50 feet of a public road.
He pleaded not guilty to the firearm charge and was not required to enter a plea on the indictable offence of attempted murder, as this is expected to be tried at the High Court.
On Monday, his team of defence lawyers, led by Wayne Norde, made an application for bail even as Julien, leading the prosecution along with Gabrielle St. Hilaire, told the court that the prosecution’s position remains the same: “They are opposed to bail.”
But Norde said that the defence was not armed with disclosure at the first hearing and was not able to determine the strength and or evidence of the witness statement when the first bail application was made, which is critical in a bail application and is a critical factor for the magistrate in his discretion in granting bail.
He said his team is now armed with “partial disclosure,” and hence the new bail application which is a “new circumstance” along with the witness statement of the victim.
But Julien brought Dodds, who is wheelchair-bound, to court to testify.
She told the court that she had been in an intimate romantic relationship with Dr. Thomas from 2025, and in detailing her health situation, explaining that she was flown to the neighbouring French island of Martinique for further medical attention, suffers severe pains, has a colostomy bag, and her health remains at risk.
After hearing both sides, Senior Magistrate Michael Laudat decided that Dr. Thomas was “not a flight risk” and granted EC$75,000 bail with sureties. The accused was to surrender to the jurisdiction of the court, report to the police station every Monday and Friday from 7.00 am to 7.00 pm, surrender all his travel documents, not to interfere with the victim and or any witnesses and was forbidden from living the state without the permission of the court.
However, his freedom was short lived as Julien in thanking the court for its decision gave notice that the state had invoked section 21 (1) of the Bail Act, which states “Where a Magistrate’s Court grants bail to a person who is charged with or convicted of an offence punishable by a term of imprisonment of three years or more, the prosecution may appeal to a judge of the High Court against the granting of bail.”
He then served the court with his notice of appeal and drew the court’s attention to section 21(6) of the Bail Act, which states “On receipt from the prosecution of oral notice of appeal under subsection (4) from its decision to grant bail the Magistrate’s Court shall remand in custody the person concerned, until the appeal is determined or otherwise disposed of.”
Despite intervention from Norde, Magistrate Laudat stated that he had no further say in the matter.
CMC/cj/ir/2026