Foul-mouthed woman gets bail
MONTEGO BAY, St James — Melrose Bremmer, who on a previous court appearance hurled expletives at the judge, was granted bail in the amount of $250,000 in the St James Parish Court on Monday following an application by her attorney.
On January 3, after presiding Judge Kaysha Grant-Pryce denied her bail, Bremmer told the judge to perform an oral sex act on her mother. A week later when Bremmer again appeared in court, she raised her index and middle fingers and gestured in the judge’s direction as she was being led out of the courtroom towards the holding area. There was no response from the bench.
Bremmer is before the court because she allegedly attempted to assault a family court judge and brandished a knife at a police officer in open court.
During Monday’s hearing, her attorney, Albert Morgan, stated that his client has denied the allegations and asked for an early trial date.
“If the matter is going to trial it would not be in this parish,” the judge advised the lawyer.
Before granting her bail, Grant-Pryce cautioned Bremmer about her actions and emphasised the value of self-control.
“You were popular last week…What you did was horrible…You didn’t make the news in a positive way last week,” the judge told the accused woman.
“You stood there and you hurled expletives at a judge…That was disrespectful, Miss Bremmer…There is nothing that I did to merit that; I did not go outside of the law…The chief parish court judge called me to find out exactly what went on…Don’t do that, ma’am…You can’t keep making excuses for your bad behaviour…I did not take away your son.
“There was no reason for that outburst…Sometimes we can be right and still hold it down…Control that behaviour because it can only make matters worse…Calm yourself down, take deep breaths and sometimes trust the process because you don’t have all the answers,” the judge said.
She then told the woman she was offering her bail and she was to return to court on February 8.
The judge then appealed to the person who stood bail for Bremmer to ensure that she is back before the court for that mention date. She also noted that the case file is not ready as some statements are still being collected.
Bremmer had appeared in the St James Parish Court to answer to charges of disorderly conduct, assault at common law, and possession of an offensive weapon.
Those charges stemmed from allegations that she attempted to attack a family court judge and a police officer in open court last December.
She was taken before the Family Court for a case involving her 11-year-old child, who is said to be in need of care and protection.
The child has also been diagnosed with Down’s syndrome, which may cause delays in mental and physical development as well as increase the risk for health problems.
According to court documents, on December 6 last year Bremmer became agitated after the judge decided to place her child in State custody. She allegedly attempted to hit the judge with a chair.
Bremmer was restrained by a police officer. However, as she walked along a passage leading to the holding area, while being taken into custody, she drew a knife that she had hidden among a stack of boxes containing court documents. She allegedly held up the knife and told the officer, “You are an idiot…Look how easy I could have killed you.”
She was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, assault at common law, and possession of an offensive weapon.
It was while answering to those charges on January 3 that she hurled abuse at presiding Judge Kaysha Grant-Pryce.