The attorney for convicted drug trafficker Jonathan Eric Gardiner, who was arrested in the US after the plane he was on crashed in waters off Florida on May 12, today asked a New York judge to dismiss a criminal complaint against him.
Susy Ribero-Ayala said that her client is currently being detained at a facility in Oklahoma, and argued that his constitutional rights have been violated.
She argued that the US government filed its criminal complaint against Gardiner two days after he was arrested.
“Thus, the government elected to continue holding Mr. Gardiner before obtaining the charging document that initiated this prosecution,” she wrote in a motion to dismiss.
“Mr. Gardiner made his initial appearance on May 15, 2026, in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida and remains incarcerated. Following that appearance, he was taken to the Orange County Jail and then transferred to the Seminole County Jail, where he remained until being moved to a detention facility in Oklahoma, where he remains as of the filing of this motion.
“More than 30 days have now elapsed since Mr. Gardiner was first deprived of his liberty.
“As of the filing of this motion, no indictment has been returned, Mr. Gardiner has not waived indictment, and, according to the defense’s investigation and review of the public docket, no excludable time exists under the Speedy Trial Act.
“Accordingly, Mr. Gardiner remains incarcerated solely on a criminal complaint that was filed two days after his detention had already begun and for which no timely indictment has been obtained.”
She argued that the Fifth Amendment in the US Constitution guarantees the right to a grand jury indictment for capital or other infamous crimes and that it must be filed within 30 days of an individual’s arrest.
“By failing to file an indictment within this mandated timeframe, the government has violated the defendant’s constitutional and statutory rights,” she said.
“Furthermore, the delay has prejudiced the defendant’s ability to mount a defense, locate witnesses, and preserve exculpatory evidence.
“Further, the defendant continues to be held in custody without the filing of a charging document.”
Ribero-Ayala argued that the court should grant an order dismissing the complaint with prejudice and grant the immediate release of Gardiner.
The criminal complaint has set off a firestorm in The Bahamas.
In the complaint, Michael Coleman, a special agent with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), claimed that Gardiner was allegedly moving tons of cocaine through The Bahamas, with the protection of Bahamian government officials and high-ranking politicians.
Coleman also alleges that a Bahamian politician, designated as “Politician 1” met with a drug dealer and a cooperating source for US law enforcement in Parliament in 2024 to discuss a possible drug deal.
Investigators said Gardiner had $30,000 in cash when he was arrested after the election day plane crash.
A photo of evidence from the incident showed cash in a bag marked with a name that was redacted and labeled “Politician-1”.
Eleven other people were on board that plane, including Progressive Liberal Party supporters who were headed to Grand Bahama to vote.
At home, the opposition Free National Movement have raised alarm over the allegations. On Thursday, FNM Leader Michael Pintard asked Commissioner of Police Shanta Knowles to launch an investigation into the claims.
In a statement on May 19, the Bahamian government said it was taking the matter “extremely seriously”.
“Local law enforcement authorities will also commence their own inquiries,” it said.
There was no formal announcement by police or any other law enforcement agency in The Bahamas of any investigation.
