On Wednesday, November 22nd, Canadian National Jasmine Hartin returned to San Pedro’s Magistrate Court for the trial on the charges of Drug Possession and Common Assault. Hartin and her attorney, Arthur Saldivar, hoped to conclude these two legal matters. However, they were adjourned to January 26, 2024, to be heard at the Belize City Magistrate Court.
Hartin’s attorney, Saldivar, seemed disappointed that the trial on these two charges was adjourned. “We had expected to continue and possibly conclude these charges brought against her by the Crown, but we had no Magistrate today,” said Saldivar. The court did have a magistrate, but it was not the magistrate following Hartin’s case. Thus, it was adjourned. Saldivar petitioned the court to see if Hartin’s next court appearance could be done virtually as she has commitments in another jurisdiction. The magistrate on duty said that as per the norm, the defendant must be present in person, and the virtual option is usually considered for witnesses only. Saldivar insisted, explaining that his client may experience difficulty because it comes at a high travel cost for her. The Magistrate said that those were the instructions and that the court would let them know if there were any changes.
Saldivar added that Hartin’s trip to Belize to attend court was for nothing and at a significant cost to herself. The senior attorney continued by saying that they look forward to having these matters fully addressed and concluded so his client can have the liberty to pursue her other cases elsewhere without the need to come back and forth to Belize to address what can only be deemed as bogus charges.
Hartin was previously scheduled to be at the San Pedro Magistrate Court on August 16th but was a no-show. According to reports, arrangements were made to postpone the hearings, adjourning the case to November 22nd. The charges stem from an eventful night on May 28, 2021, when her luxurious life came crumbling down after shooting Police Superintendent Henry Jemmott in the head as they socialized at a dock south of San Pedro Town. She claimed it was an accident. The Canadian socialite was taken into custody at the San Pedro Police Station and was charged with Manslaughter by Negligence. That same day, she was charged with Drug Possession after police said they found a powdery substance in her purse suspected to be cocaine. According to police, after testing the powder at the Belize National Forensic Science Service Laboratory, the report indicated it was cocaine. However, at a court hearing on January 26th, Hartin and her legal team produced a document stating that the substance was acetaminophen.
The Common Assault came after she attempted to see the twins she shares with Andrew Ashcroft, son of British-Belizean billionaire Lord Michael Ashcroft. After being denied entrance to the property her children were in, Hartin was accused of attacking one of Andrew’s employees, Sandra Grisham. However, the said employee later reportedly denied being assaulted by Hartin, and the charge remained.
As for the Manslaughter by Negligence case, Jasmine Hartin pled guilty on April 25th to avoid jail time. She was then ordered to pay a fine of BZ$75,000 and allowed to travel out of Belize. The Canadian mother was also ordered by the High Court to complete 300 hours of community service at the YMCA Belize and produce a video about the consequences of drinking and making bad decisions.
None of this has been done, and when speaking to the YMCA, they noted that the organization had no knowledge about the case and had not been consulted to host Hartin as a volunteer. Jasmine Hartin said she had been trying to start her community service at the YMCA without any success. She hopes to do community service at the YWCA in the Capital City of Belmopan.
