A lawyer yesterday accused Police and Attorney General's Chambers of "illegally detaining'' his client who was later charged with stabbing and tampering with a witness.

Lawyer Phil Perinchief said his 22-year-old client, Kamal Jamal Trott, had been held in Police custody since last Friday at 6 p.m. and spent 92 hours in custody before being charged in Magistrates' Court Tuesday afternoon.

But Crown Counsel Peter Eccles said Mr. Perinchief was "grandstanding for the benefit of the Press''.

And he objected to bail because Trott had already served time for stabbing a Police sergeant in 1995.

Trott, of Kitty's Lane, Hamilton Parish, was charged with wounding Curtis Richardson with intent to cause grievous bodily harm on November 24 and was also charged with offering cash and drugs to Curtis Richardson to withhold testimony on the wounding complaint on November 26. Trott was not required to enter a plea since the matter is indictable and will be handled in the Supreme Court.

Mr. Perinchief said even giving Police the benefit of the doubt, he expected Trott to be held in Police custody no longer than 72 hours -- and said Trott should have appeared in plea court on Monday morning.

And Mr. Perinchief said when he asked why his client was being detained, the Police officer said those were his instructions from his superiors and Mr.

Eccles.

Mr. Perinchief said his client's "constitutional rights'' had been violated and said: "The AG's Chambers must not condone any illegal detention.'' "It has to stop where officers take it upon themselves -- with or without advise from the AG's Chambers -- to illegally detain people,'' he added.

But when Mr. Eccles accused Mr. Perinchief of "grandstanding'', Senior Magistrate Will Francis interrupted, stating: "You can't ask Mr. Perinchief to keep quiet if he feels his client's rights have been flouted.'' "Even if this was capital murder, isn't it unusual to hold a man (without charging him)? "We all know the terrible conditions and he was being held by the same people who arrested him -- there's a big difference between being held in Police custody and remanded in prison.

"Police have to work within the constraints of the law,'' Mr. Francis added.

But Mr. Eccles said Mr. Perinchief had made "grave allegations'' against the AG's Chambers by suggesting that they "were incapable of getting their tackle in order''.

He said the case was unusual since Police suspected Trott was attempting to interfere with the witness and if Trott had been charged on Monday, there would have been one charge instead of two. Mr. Eccles said he opposed bail because Trott was out on $5,000 bail with a like surety at the time of the alleged incident for another matter involving an alleged wounding.

He said the alleged incident occurred at the Shelly Bay laundromat where Trott allegedly stabbed Curtis Richardson in the side, requiring treatment and stitches at the hospital.

Mr. Eccles said Trott allegedly left the scene and later returned wielding a machete and issuing threats.

Trott had been released from prison earlier this year after serving a three-year sentence for stabbing Sgt. Ron Beech with a seven-inch flick knife.

"He's a hazard to the community and a hazard to himself,'' said Mr. Eccles, claiming that Trott may have later tried to offer Richardson drugs and money not to give testimony.

Mr. Perinchief countered: "What interference? He was in Police custody...this is one more attempt by the Crown to hold him beyond the already illogical time they've held him -- counsel cannot come here with such shaky `evidence'.'' But Mr. Francis stated: "These sort of things cause me a great deal of concern.'' He denied bail and remanded Trott in custody until mention in Plea Court in two weeks.