Witness: Family wipeout made me to flip on King Valley Gang
Published:Saturday | January 18, 2020 | 12:27 AMNickoy Wilson/Gleaner Writer
A former gangster yesterday revealed that he came forward to testify against alleged members of the Westmoreland-based King Valley Gang because they had wiped out much of his family and were on a quest to hunt him down to kill him.
He said that his aunts, father, sister, uncles and cousin were among seven cut down by the gang.
“Elder nearly kill me cousin. Also, him shot him inna him head. That’s the reason I am giving evidence. They also want to kill me over a gun that ‘Evil Boss’ dead lef and leave me with, and Elder even back gun on me,” the witness said.
The witness, who cannot be named because of a court order, said that he saw his name in a local newspaper as a person of interest in relation to a separate incident in Westmoreland.
But while that did not convince him to turn himself in, the witness said that the tipping point came after his father, sister and aunt were killed.
“My two uncle that were (later) killed, they were the ones who take to Mandeville to stay with my other uncle,” the witness said, indicating it was at that point that he decided to surrender.
The former gangster was testifying via video link in the trial of alleged members of the King Valley Gang at the Home Circuit Court in downtown Kingston.
COUNT 9 AMENDMENT
Meanwhile, the prosecution made an application to amend count 9 on the 11-count indictment based on a provision of Section 6 of the nearly 100-year-old Indictment Act.
The section allows for the prosecution to apply for the amendment of an indictment before or at any stage in a trial if the court sees it fit.
Count nine on the indictment charges Lindell Powell and Carlington Godfrey with facilitating the serious offence of indecent assault by a criminal organisation.
The prosecution wants this to be changed to rape because of evidence given by the witness on Thursday.
However, defence attorneys objected to the move, arguing that it would be unfair and prejudicial against their clients.
Presiding judge, Chief Justice Bryan Sykes, in handing down the ruling, stated that he would give attorneys for the accused adequate time to prepare their defence.
On Thursday, the witness said that he and other alleged gang members had sex with females against their will on two separate occasions.
Powell, Godfrey, Rannaldo McKennis, Christon Grant, Derval Williams, Hopeton Sankey, Copeland Sankey and Sean Suckra are on trial for the breaches of Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organisations) 2014, commonly called the anti-gang legislation, in relation to crimes committed between 2016 and 2018.