Murder Accused, American Jonathan Lehrer, Slapped With Gun and Ammunition Related Charges

ROSEAU, Dominica - Dominica Police have slapped gun and ammunition related charges against the 57-year-old American national Jonathan Lehrer, who is already facing murder charges here.
A stoned faced Johnathan Lehrer, 57, appeared before Senior Magistrate Michael Laudat and was not required to enter a plea as the charges were laid indictable and will go before a High Court judge.
He is charged with “trafficking firearms and unlawfully importing 1 Mac 11- 9MM Treaded barrel, 144 9X19 MM ammunition, 1-IWI 25 rounds capacity 9MM Magazine; 3 IWI 32 rounds capacity 9MM magazine, 3 Glock 9MM 15 rounds capacity magazine and 3 Glock 9MM 10 rounds capacity magazine.” The incident took place on December 4, 2023.
Defense lawyer Lennox Lawrence, told the court that his client needed a “speedy trial.”
“They have expert evidence I can say that for a fact and we want it, they rush to come to court, so my application is that the report of the expert witness is disclosed immediately to us,” he told the court.
Magistrate Laudat then inquired of the prosecution if they had a report from the “expert” adding that the matter needed to be dealt with within “a reasonable time.
“One day the system is going to burst, we have too many preliminary inquiries (PI) matters in the system, matters should be dealt with within six to nine months,” he said, before ordering that disclosure to be made on or before March 15, 2025, and set trial dates of April, 22, 24, and 25, 2025.
Earlier this week, residents from the southwest coast village of Soufriere vowed to resume their protest outside the High Court, as lawyers for American hotelier, Lehrer, accused of murdering two people here in 2023, seek to have a variation of the bail provided to him last year.
Lehrer and 62-year-old Robert Snyder Jr, another American national were charged with the murders of animation pioneer and Canadian philanthropist Daniel Langlois and his longtime partner, Dominique Marchand, 58.
The Americans were not required to enter a plea in the magistrate’s court, since murder is an indictable offence and can only be tried before a judge and jury at the High Court.
The prosecution alleges that between November 29 and December 2, 2023, the two Americans murdered Langlois and Marchand. Their bodies were found incinerated in a car near Gallion, in the south of the island where they owned a hotel. Langlois and Marchand had been reported missing for several days.
Last year, Lehrer through his lawyers had applied for bail on “medical grounds” to travel to the United States of America but that was denied.
Justice Colin Williams had last year outlined several conditions under which bail could be given to Lehrer. They include a one million dollar (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) bond with a proper and suitable surety. In addition, the murder accused must revoke his US Citizenship and he must satisfy the Registrar of the High Court that he has met all the conditions set out by the court.
His surety must have “total control over him” and he must first secure the approval of the High Court before he travels. He is also to report to the Grand Bay Police Station, south of here, as part of his bail conditions.