HAUNTING WORDS

A brag about pumping eight shots into a man who was ordered killed by the Clansman-One Don Gang led to the conviction one alleged gangster on Thursday when the judge, in finding him guilty of facilitating the murder, accepted his boastful admission.

Tareek James, the alleged bodyguard of reputed leader Andre ‘Blackman’ Bryan, was among four alleged gangsters, including Blackman, who were convicted on Thursday of enabling the gang’s murder of two men in two separate incidents.

In one of the incidents, two former top-tier members of the gang had testified that James was the shooter in the November 2017 murder of a man called ‘Outlaw’ in Lauriston, St Catherine, and that he had bragged to them about killing the man.

One of the witnesses, who was Bryan’s personal driver and the gang’s banker, testified that, after the killing, James told him that he gave the man a couple of shots, while the other witness, who was a community don and driver for the gang, recalled being told that James pumped eight shots into the man and that “all of dem connect”.

The court also heard that Bryan had ordered the killing, which was planned by himself and the ex-community don.

Consequently, Bryan, James, Carl Beech and Owen Ormsby were charged with facilitating the commission of murder by a criminal organisation. But the case against Beech and Ormsby was previously conceded by the prosecution.

In delivering the verdict, Chief Justice Bryan Sykes pointed to the evidence about James’ confession of his role, noting that he could not disregard his say-so.

“Why should I not take his word for it? I take his word for it and that Mr … is correctly reporting what Mr James said to him,” the judge said.

Justice Sykes made the point while looking back at the defence of Beech’s lawyer, Cecile Ashton Griffiths, who had argued that he could not have been guilty as another person was charged for the murder and that there was an eyewitness.

But Justice Sykes said, “The fact that police have charged someone with an offence does not mean that someone has committed the offence, and, if that person says, ‘Yes, I am the one who did it or one of those who did it’, there is nothing that says that murder, by definition, can only be committed by one person.”

Furthermore, he said that the fact that a person was charged was neither here nor there.

“We don’t know the circumstance. Is the person saying it was one or three [persons involved]? We can’t speculate. What we can say is that Mr … says, when Mr James returned, he was saying that he shot Outlaw. That is what the evidence says,” he added, noting that both men were speaking on equal terms, as gangsters, at the time.

The judge explained that he found that Bryan and the former community don were the “leading light” in the planning of this murder and that James “readily lent himself to the execution” of the job.

He added that Bryan facilitated the commission of the murder by providing support, encouragement, and even the plan, which he endorsed.

Bryan and two other alleged cronies, Michael Whitely and Brian Morris, were also found guilty of facilitating the gang’s murder of a Rastafarian man on Jones Avenue in Spanish Town, St Catherine, in November 2017. The court had heard that Morris and Whitely were the shooters.

The judge also accepted the evidence of two of the former gangsters that Bryan had ordered the man killed and had also planned the murder.

“He provided shooters; he directed ‘Mackerel’ to get the firearms, he gave the men a framework in which to operate, and … he provided the ground transportation and all that enabled these two men to carry out the job they were assigned,” the judge noted.

“He facilitated also by putting in place, as part of the plans, means by which they escaped detection – the hiding of the guns and being taken away from the scene where the murder took place,” he added.

Justice Sykes said the evidence consistently showed Bryan’s disposition as a micromanager and planner who was very keen on details.

The judge said Bryan was a “planner from beginning to the end” and did not allow the men to act independently at any point of the mission.

Defendant Jahzeel Blake had been charged on the count but was freed after the Crown conceded that there was not sufficient evidence to sustain its case against him. However, the judge said that, based on the evidence given and the roles played by himself and defendant Ted Prince, it demonstrated that they are members of the organisation.

At the same time, Justice Sykes acquitted Bryan, Daniel McKenzie, brothers Pete and Marco Miller, Dwight Hall and Kemar Harrison of facilitating the gang’s murder of two men from Denham Town, Kingston, in March 2017.

The men were freed after the judge indicated that the witness’ identification of the men was faulty.

Similarly, Bryan, Jahzeel Blake, Andre Golding and James were cleared in relation to facilitating the gang’s murder of a bus driver in November 2017.

Marco Miller, Chevroy Evans and Golding were also acquitted in relation to facilitating the gang’s murder of a man identified as ‘Tesha Bus Driver’ in February 2018.

However, the way is not clear for all of the men, as they still have to answer to the charge of being a member of the gang.

The judge has already signalled that he has found evidence to support the claim that defendants Prince, Blake and Golding, Fabian Johnson and Stephanie Cole Christie are members of the gang.

Of the 33 men and one woman who were charged, 26 remain. Six were freed and one was killed last August.

The trial will continue on Monday.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com