Trial on hold as time given for call-data records
Published:Thursday | March 17, 2022 | 12:10 AMTanesha Mundle/Staff Reporter
The Clansman-One Don Gang trial in the Home Circuit Court was on Wednesday adjourned until March 23 after the prosecution requested time to peruse digital evidence, including the call-data records, which the Crown will be using to support its main witness’ claim that the alleged gangsters had been in constant contact and had called each other, even from behind bars.
“We finally received the CFCD report yesterday evening, and, my Lord, we are asking for some time to peruse the several documents,” the prosecutor told Chief Justice Bryan Sykes.
The CFCD is the Communication Forensic Cybercrimes Department.
The prosecutor, who indicated that the documents would be disclosed virtually to the defence lawyers today, said that additional time is needed to determine who are witnesses to be called and the number.
Along with the call-data records will also be the subscriber information for some of the numbers that were submitted to the service providers.
A former member of the gang, who is one of the prosecution’s main witnesses, testified that the alleged gangsters had used several different phones to communicate with each other. Some of the numbers were stored under their respective names in three phones that were used to secretly record conversations that the ex-gangster had with some of his alleged cronies.
The self-confessed gangster also testified that alleged members of the criminal organisation had communicated with reputed leader Andre ‘Blackman’ Bryan and his reputed deputy, Jason ‘City Puss’ Brown, while they were both in custody.
Voices said to be that of both men were heard in several of the secret recordings that were played in court. In those conversations, the men identified as Blackman and City Puss were heard using prison lingo – ‘jump off di road’ – for ending a conversation.
In relation to the transcription of the audio recordings on the last of the three phones, the judge was advised that the actual typing was finished and that all that was required was for the transcribing officer to attend court to give evidence about what had been done before resuming the playing of the audio recordings.
The defence lawyers were, however, not pleased with the decision to grant further time to the Crown. They registered their discontent while noting that the court had been too accommodating to the prosecution.
“As I said before, we think this is grossly unfair to the defence that after so many months we still don’t know what is the case they are bringing,” Lloyd McFarlane, Bryan’s lead counsel, who spoke on behalf of the defence, said.
McFarlane further told the judge that he was not sure whether the time would be sufficient for the defence to peruse the documents and that they were unsure of the contents of the evidence.
Chief Justice Bryan Sykes advised that he would determine whether the trial would proceed next Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the retired inspector, before completing his testimony on Wednesday, admitted that he had made an error when he testified that he first met defendant Stephanie Christie when she reportedly offered to give him $100,000 for Blackman’s release in September 2017.
The inspector, while being cross-examined by Christie’s lawyer, Alexander Shaw, about his first encounter with the alleged gangster, said they first met in February or March 2017.
When asked whether he had been lying when he told the court that he first met Christie in September 2017, the officer said that he might have made a mistake.
He also conceded that he had not documented in any of his statements that he and Christie had had discussions about guns.
The retired inspector told the court that after Christie had offered him the bribe, he had told her that he wanted two rifles instead. He said further that he, Christie, and Blackman had had previous discussions about the gang handing over guns to the police.
Bryan 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.