Police inspector contradicts civilian witness in 2016 gas station murder trial

A police inspector this morning gave evidence at the murder trial of brothers O’Neil and O’Brian Walters that contradicted testimony by a civilian witness previously treated as hostile by the prosecution.

The brothers are being tried for the shooting death of Kahni Erskine at a St James gas station on September 22, 2016, which was caught on video.

The police inspector told the court that he took statements from the civilian witness over two days following the shooting with a police sergeant present as a witness on each occasion.

"I wrote down what the witness said, as accurately as possible. The statement was for the offence of murder, and under the Committal Proceedings Act, it's a requirement for a Justice of the Peace or a member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, at or above the rank of Sergeant, to be present when those statements are signed," the inspector testified.

"The witness gave me descriptions and names of the suspects during the statements. I went to the Montego Bay police lock-up, made inquiries, and was given custody of O'Neil and O'Brian Walters," he added.

Last week, the civilian witness was arrested for creating public mischief after he denied, several times, that he spoke to the police about the Walters brothers, although the prosecution pointed to his signature on several police statements.

During yesterday's proceedings, the jury was shown footage taken from the gas station’s closed-circuit television system depicting the events of the shooting.

The trial is currently underway.

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