By FRANCIS JOSEPH
A man who was convicted of murder four years ago, has been set free.
The witness against him at the trial was murdered on April 2 this year during a home invasion.
Delivering an oral judgment at the Hall of Justice, Port of Spain, on Thursday, Justices of Appeal, Mark Mohammed, Gillian Lucky and Ricky Rahim, ruled in favour of Adim “Psycho” Reece.
The judges declined to order a retrial because Reece’s cousin, Sherman Lambkin, whose evidence formed the basis of the case against him, was murdered during a home invasion. Lambkin, 41, a father of seven, was gunned down inside his Valencia home as his wife and toddler narrowly escaped death in a brazen home invasion.
Reece was convicted of murdering Devon Poptee on December 26, 2005.
Lambkin testified that Reece visited him and other relatives in Valencia and asked him and a friend to identify a group of men who had stabbed him a little over a week earlier. He said they subsequently met Poptee, whom he described as a friend.
According to Lambkin, Reece asked Poptee to help identify his attackers, and Poptee led them along a track towards a river. Lambkin said Reece instructed him and his friend to walk ahead while he remained behind with Poptee.
He claimed he saw Poptee stooping down before hearing a gunshot. Lambkin also alleged that Reece threatened him and his friend, warning them against speaking about what they had witnessed before they left the area.
Residents found Poptee’s body the following morning. An autopsy revealed that he had been shot in the head. Lambkin was eventually arrested by police but was released after implicating his cousin.
Homicide detectives obtained a warrant for Reece’s arrest, which was executed more than a year and a half later.
Reece was convicted in September 2022 following a judge-alone trial before Madame Justice Carla Brown-Antoine.
At the appeal, Reece’s attorney Daniel Khan successfully argued that the trial judge had failed to properly consider whether Lambkin had an interest to serve when he implicated his cousin.
Justice Mohammed found that the judge had placed undue reliance on police officers’ evidence that Lambkin had been cleared as a suspect, as well as the fact that he was not questioned about fabricating the case against Reece during the trial.
He also found that the judge should have considered Lambkin’s connection to Reece’s alleged efforts to find the men who had attacked him. The judge should also have taken into account that Lambkin only cooperated with police after he was detained as a suspect.
Justice Mohammed added, “There was a sufficient evidential foundation that Sherman Lambkin may have possessed an improper motive.” Also representing Reece were Michelle Gonzalves and Harry Singh.
