The case against José Jorge Goncalves Jardim (51), of Oxford Road, was dropped an hour into his trial when Relief Magistrate David Le Cornu was told that the evidence from police and an eye-witness related to a different date from that which appeared on the charge sheet.
All the evidence referred to 10 April, but the charge sheet was dated 15 April.
When the mistake was pointed out, Centenier David Webber dropped the charges.
‘The parish and I have made a mistake, sir.
There is a mistake on the date,’ he said.
‘It has obviously gone on too long, and it is unfair for this to continue, so I would like to offer no evidence.
I apologise to the court and Mr Jardim for not dealing with this error.’ However, St Helier honorary police administrator Michel Le Troquer said that the error had been the fault of the States police, not the parish.
‘There was an error in the paperwork received from police headquarters,’ he said.
