Witness cop denies attacking Kartel on Facebook

Barbara Gayle and Sheldon Williams, Gleaner Writers

Former head of the Cybercrimes Unit, Detective Sergeant Patrick Linton, yesterday denied making disparaging comments on his Facebook page about Vybz Kartel.

Kartel's lawyer, Tom Tavares-Finson, suggested that in August 2011, the witness showed ill-will towards Kartel by posting unkind comments under a picture of the entertainer with a Trinidadian woman.

"You have been putting some nasty things on Facebook," Tavares-Finson said.

Linton responded: "I don't recall. Facebook is hackable."

Defence lawyers questioned Linton as to how the BlackBerry cell phone attributed to Kartel was used to make several calls when it was locked up for safe keeping in his exhibit locker.

In response to Tavares-Finson and attorney-at-law Pierre Rogers, Linton said he had no explanation for that. He said the key was put on top of the locker and he did not take it home with him.

He said when he received the phones on October 3, 2011, from the Flying Squad, he locked them up and he did not access them until October 14, 2011.

The lawyers suggested to the witness that the BlackBerry phone was used on October 9, 2011, to make several calls and that the integrity of the phone was compromised. Linton said he could not say it was compromised. He agreed that the phone was put in the locker for safe keeping.

unauthorised access

Linton said he could not say who used the phone, and in response to Rogers, he said it came to his attention from the defence lawyers in December last year that the phone was used while it was locked in the evidence safe. He admitted he did not report the unauthorised access of the phone to any superior officers or make a report in the diary. When asked if he was setting up the entire Cybercrimes Unit for attempting to pervert the course of justice, Linton replied, "No, counsel."

Tavares-Finson also suggested to the witness that phone messages referring to Kartel as a flight risk were put in when bail application was being made for the entertainer. Linton denied that suggestion. He said all that happened was that the investigating officer had asked him to write a forensic report in relation to information from the BlackBerry messages.

It was then suggested that Linton had put in those messages to oppose the bail application, but he denied the suggestion.

"I'm suggesting to you that you are a charlatan, a trickster," Rogers suggested.

Linton responded: "No, my lord."

Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, is charged jointly with entertainer Shawn Campbell, also called Shawn Storm, Kahiro Jones, Shane Williams, and André St John for the murder of Clive 'Lizard' Williams of Waterford, St Catherine.

The Crown is alleging at the trial in the Home Circuit Court that Williams was beaten to death at Kartel's house in Havendale, St Andrew, on August 16, 2011, over two missing guns.