Posted By BARBARA SIMPSON, SIMCOE REFORMER
A Simcoe man detained in Cuba after a collision will now stand trial.
A travel company representative informed Cody LeCompte's family that his
case will advance to a trial in Cuba, his mother Danette said in an
interview.
Thursday night, Danette learned the jury at a pre-hearing last week
opted for her 19-year-old son to stand trial.
"Right now I'm just so exhausted," she said. "I've gotten no sleep last
night."
Cody, a recent graduate of Holy Trinity high school, was driving a
rental car with three passengers -- Danette, his second cousin and his
cousin's Cuban fiancée -- when the vehicle collided with a dump truck
outside of Camagüey on April 29. He was initially informed he was free
to leave once Cuban doctors signed off on the fiancée's medical files.
However, Cuban authorities have put a block on his passport, preventing
him from leaving the island pending the outcome of his legal proceedings.
Though most of her information has come from the travel company,
Canadian officials have confirmed the case will go to trial, Danette
said Sunday.
However, Cody has still not been formally charged.
"He's not charged. He's in limbo," she said. Foreign Affairs officials
are making arrangements with the family to speak with an international
lawyer some time this week, Danette said.
Meanwhile, Cody remains living out of a room in a Santa Lucia resort. He
has now spent seven weeks on the island. Danette expects her family has
spent $2,000 solely in accommodations.
The family has been offered a pledge of $365 -- the cost of a week's
accommodations. The local donor suggested the family set up a Facebook
page to collect donations for Cody's ay in Cuba.
The college bound student has also missed six weeks of his summer
employment. He is registered to attend Sault College in the fall, but
with a typical case taking between six months to a year for trial, he
could miss out on the start of his college program, Danette added."
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