Justice Dale Palmer expressed astonishment at the failure of senior Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) officials to identify soldiers involved in the 2010 killing of businessman Keith Clarke, calling it “remarkable” given the organisation’s accountability protocols. The judge acquitted the three accused soldiers, citing insufficient evidence linking them to the crime. The 14-year-old case, marked by delays and legal challenges, left Clarke’s family devastated and calling for justice.

Family devastated as Keith Clarke murder case crumbles

Estate looking forward to resuming civil suit against State

Jamaica Gleaner/15 Nov 2024/Tanesha Mundle/Staff Reporter

THE KEITH Clarke murder trial crumbled Thursday over the issue of identity, with the presiding judge asserting that it was “remarkable” that senior Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) officials were unable to help identify the soldiers involved in the May 2010 shooting death of the businessman.

“It is remarkable in my mind that two of the most senior JDF officials involved in the process at the organisation – an organisation which employs a number of processes to ensure accountability – could not assist in determining the identity of the person who went into the room or fired weapons,” said Justice Dale Palmer before acquitting the three soldiers charged in the case.

Lance Corporals Greg Tingling and Odel Buckley, along with Private Arnold Henry, were found not guilty of murdering Clarke, who was shot 25 times in his master bedroom at his Kirkland Close home on May 27, 2010, during a police-military operation targeting then fugitive drug lord Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke.

The judge instructed the jury to return a not-guilty verdict, agreeing with the defence that the Crown failed to provide sufficient evidence to link the soldiers to the crime.

The ruling left Clarke’s family devastated, particularly as the lack of identification meant that no one would be held accountable for his death.

Attorney Leonard Green, speaking for the family, expressed their frustration.

“What they know as a fact is that the soldiers have the information [on] who would have been the ones who fired the guns, but if it is left to them to cooperate in this process, they will not [do so] in a matter which might lead to the conviction of one of their members,” said Green as Clarke’s relatives declined media interviews.

“They are extremely disappointed, shocked, and surprised at the way soldiers gave evidence,” he added. “They are extremely distraught, extremely upset, and they are of the view that justice has not been served . ... We are left with this unfortunate situation where the judge had no alternative, in the absence of any record or any evidence to attach any of the men in the dock to the killing of Mr Clarke, ... but to enter a notguilty verdict where the no-case submission was upheld.”

This outcome marked the end of a 14-year battle for both the soldiers and Clarke’s family that was plagued by numerous legal challenges and delays.

For the defence, attorney Linton Gordon noted that while the verdict was a victory, it was not a cause for celebration.

“The attitude of the JDF is that all operations should be conducted without fatalities. This is a very unfortunate one in which the soldiers were faced with an all-but-impossible situation in which at least four of them were shot and injured, and the group of soldiers who went to the premises, a weapon was pointed at them, and they instinctively responded as they are trained, and this is what led to the very unfortunate demise of Mr Clarke,” he said.

Nonetheless, he said the soldiers were relieved by the ruling after years of stress and personal hardships caused by the lengthy trial.

‘CRITICAL DEFICIENCY’

During his ruling, the judge noted that the Crown’s case was mostly circumstantial and highlighted the issue of identification as a “critical deficiency”.

“The Crown has several ingredients to establish, but one of the essential ingredients to

establish is that of identification of the person alleged to have taken the life of the deceased, but the evidence in relation to identification remains below the standard that is required for me to call upon the defendants,” Justice Palmer said.

At the same time, Justice Palmer said that based on the evidence that Clarke received 16 fatal shots to the back, among others, a jury properly directed could be satisfied that the intention was to kill the victim or to cause serious bodily harm.

Clarke’s wife and daughter, who were present in the room when he was shot, had testified that he was coming down from atop a closet with his back turned when he was shot multiple times.

“Keith Clarke is dead. The shooters intended to kill him or to cause serious bodily harm when they shot him 16 times in the back, and ... there was no lawful excuse,” he said.

The Crown had relied heavily on the testimony of senior JDF officials, including Brigadier Mahatma Williams, who commanded the unit involved in the incident, and retired legal officer Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Cole, supporting evidence from the ballistic evidence along with the weapons and ammunition log book entries. However, both men were unable to definitively identify the soldiers involved in the shooting.

He noted that Williams initially could not confirm whether the accused soldiers were part of the operation or had entered Clarke’s house.

But after being treated as a hostile witness, he admitted that there was a small debriefing during which the three men were among five soldiers who entered the room.

He also noted that although Williams had initially said in a statement that he had spoken to the men involved in the shooting, during his testimony, he said definitively that it was a report that he had received and that he never spoke to the men directly.

Similarly, Cole, who said he assigned numbers to the soldiers for safety reasons, could not identify the accused men in court. While Cole acknowledged that he had sent a list of soldiers’ names and assigned numbers to investigators, he said he had not prepared the list himself or verified its accuracy. The judge found the evidence unreliable as there was no clear link between the soldiers’ assigned numbers and their identities.

Ballistic evidence, while present, could not definitively connect the weapons used to the accused soldiers as they were only identified by numbers. Although there were entries in the ammunition and weapons log book with the numbers and the names assigned to the defendants, there was also no evidence as to who had added the names and when, so the evidence was unreliable.

The judge also noted a significant lapse in the memory of Crown witnesses, further weakening the prosecution’s case.

In the aftermath of the criminal trial, Clarke’s family is now pursuing a civil case for wrongful death. Green expressed confidence that they would succeed in the civil suit, which was put on hold pending the outcome of the trial.

King’s Counsel Peter Champagnie and attorney-at-law Jodian Hammitt represented Buckley while King’s Counsel Valerie Neita Robertson and attorneys-at-law Kemar Robinson and John-mark Reid represented Tingling.

Attorney-at-law Obika Gordon also represented Henry.

Senior Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Jeremy Taylor, KC, led the prosecution team, including Deputy DPP Latoya Bernard and Crown Counsel Dwayne Green.

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