Clerk paid $1m to rent upscale apartments for gang leader - Prosecutors
Published:Friday | April 6, 2018 | 12:00 AMLivern Barett/Senior Gleaner Writer
Prosecutors yesterday detailed how the girlfriend of reputed gang leader Andre 'Blackman' Bryan allegedly paid out close to $1 million to rent two upscale St Andrew apartments for her companion and his mother.
The allegations were outlined by Jeremy Taylor, senior deputy director of public prosecutions, during a bail hearing for Alicia Brown in the Home Circuit Court.
Brown, 27, has been in custody since last month when she was arrested, along with Bryan, 33; his mother, Millicent Brown, 53; and his brother, Kevaughn Green, 25, on several charges under the anti-gang legislation.
Justice Sharon George, who presided over the bail hearing, ordered that Brown be remanded into custody, describing her as a flight risk. No bail application was made for her co-accused.
Taylor, in opposing Alicia Brown's bail application, said that there was evidence that the clerical assistant who earns nearly $50,000 per month paid the security deposits plus $300,000 up-front to rent the two apartments.
According to Taylor, one of the apartments, located along Kings Way in St Andrew, was rented for $180,000 per month, while the other, which is located along Shortwood Road, was rented for $150,000 per month.
However, her attorney, Oswest Senior-Smith, argued that there was no evidence that Brown was involved with a criminal gang. "There is nothing wrong with wanting to live well," he argued.
Alicia Brown is charged with providing a benefit to a criminal organisation, while Bryan is charged with leading a criminal organisation and attempting to recruit an adult to join a criminal organisation.
Bryan's mother and brother have been charged with being part of a criminal organisation by facilitating the commission of a serious offence and obtaining a benefit from a criminal organisation.