Witness says he didn’t trust pastor who ordered hit
Published:Wednesday | November 3, 2021 | 12:11 AMTanesha Mundle/Staff Reporter
A former top commander in the One Don Gang yesterday disclosed that he did not trust the lone female alleged member of the gang, a pastor, and that at one point, he felt that she was setting him up to be shot.
The ex-gangster, who claimed he was second in command of the gang, during his evidence-in-chief yesterday in the Home Circuit Court via video link, explained that he became suspicious of the accused, Stephanie Christie, during an encounter with her when he went to collect money from her boyfriend ‘Crocs’, defendant Fabian Johnson.
The witness, who was drafted in the gang in 2016, testified that he went to meet Crocs in Denham Town, Kingston, to collect $150,000 to purchase a gun on Andre ‘Blackman’ Bryan’s instruction.
However, he said that when he arrived, he saw Christie, who had been given the money to deliver to Crocs. Both were in her car.
According to the witness, he told them that he was in a hurry and asked them to hand over the money as the person who he was to purchase the gun from was waiting for him. However, he said, Christie told him that she was going to buy gas and asked him to follow her.
“I said, ‘Why I need to go to the gas station when me already deh here?’, and she jus say, ‘Come on’, and drive off,” the witness recalled.
He told the court that he complied and drove to a gas station on Camp Road in Kingston, near a movie theatre, but parked outside. While there, he said that Christie told him to drive into the gas station, but he refused.
He said that he then reclined his seat and watched them in the gas station before informing her that he was returning to Denham Town. Shortly after, he said that he pulled up, cursing and asking why he had left.
Explaining why he was wary of Christie, the witness said, “I didn’t trust her because she could a give me the money when I was in Denham Town, but she force me to go to the gas station.
“I didn’t trust her. I feel like she was up to something. I feel like she wanted to bring me there for someone to come and shoot me up in the car,” he testified, explaining that he had reclined his seat just in case someone attacked his car.
He added that when she sent Crocs for the money and asked him where he was going to buy the gun and queried whether she could accompany him, he lied about the location and told her that the buyer wanted him to travel alone.
The witness said after getting the money, which was $10,000 short, he left.
Earlier, before sharing his feelings about Christie, the witness testified that he had helped the police to seize two of the gang’s illegal weapons, including the one which he had collected the money to buy in 2018.
Hence, he told the court that after leaving, he met up with the police and travelled with one of them in his car to Jones Avenue in Spanish Town, St Catherine, where he collected a gun from ‘Rell’ (Blackman’s uncle) and some ammunition in a bottle from ‘Papa’, defendant Joseph McDermott.
The witness said he had introduced the cop in his car as his uncle and that the two alleged gang members had asked the man to take care of him and make sure he was safe as they thought he was wanted by the police.
According to the witness, he had asked Blackman and another of his top commanders, City Puss, for permission to keep the gun, claiming he wanted to kill somebody, and they had both agreed.
The witness said he had first helped the police to retrieve a malfunctioning rifle, which Blackman had given him permission to take to a repairman.
That gun, which he said was retrieved from a gutter, was handed over to the police after he collected it from another of Blackman’s uncles, ‘Bling Cash’.
The witness, who had previously testified that Christie had told him that she was a pastor and had even invited him to her church in St Thomas, also told the court during further testimony that she had ordered a hit on a man in Spanish Town, St Catherine.
He said that she was the person who had identified the target and had scouted the road during the hit to ensure that the area was clear of police.
“I didn’t know him. She is the one who say him must dead,” he added.
Bryan, the reputed One Don Gang leader, and 32 other alleged gang members are being tried on an indictment with 25 counts under the Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organizations) Act and the Firearms Act.
The One Don Gang is a breakaway of the Clansman Gang.
The trial continues today with more testimony from the witness.