……”Dead man’s body never Found”
By FRANCIS JOSEPH
Five men who were awaiting trial for murder for the past 18 years, have been freed. A sixth accused died in prison.
Madame Justice Maria Busby Earle-Caddle upheld no-case submissions by the defence attorneys and acquitted the accused.
In delivering her judgment. Justice Earle-Caddle indicated that given the weakness and unreliability of the evidence in the case, she needed to bring a pause to this abomination and affront to the justice system.
Freed were Clive Charles, alias Small Man, Joseph Sammy, alias Joe, Qwesi Charles, alias Blacks, Jassu Gafoor, alias Fathead, and Markus Julien, alias Tack.
THE CASE
The prosecution’s case depended exclusively on the uncorroborated evidence of a single eyewitness, Marcus Romain, there being no forensic, scientific, or other independent evidence implicating the accused in the commission of the offence.
Marcus Romain said that sometime around the Carnival period in 2006, during the morning hours, persons he knew as “Kyo”, “Small man”,”Joe”, “Fathead” and “Tack”, and others were present at a location at upper Kavari St, Boisserre, Maraval, where a killing took place.
According to Romain, the five accused were liming and conversing with several other individuals when a man known as “Blacks” emerged from the direction of the dead-end street and stated that he needed assistance to “bring some men up in the back.”
Romain alleged that all of the accused, with the exception of “Kyo”, accompanied “Blacks” towards the front on the property. Shortly thereafter, he heard approximately seven gunshots, together with the sound of persons quarreling. Approximately two to three minutes later, he observed the men returning while escorting a man he knew as “Pie Dog”. His real name was Qwasie Dowers.
He said Dowers was being pushed and accosted by the group. Romain further testified that all of the men were armed, and alleged that “Joe” had a firearm pointed at Dowers’s temple.
According to Romain, the group continued quarreling until they reached the vicinity of an old refrigerator with its door removed.
It was at that stage, he said, that “Small man” “took over the show”, whereupon the other men lowered their firearms and distanced themselves while Dowers remained standing against the refrigerator with “Small man” facing him. He further testified that he observed “Small man” raise his hand, after which he turned his head away. He then heard a crashing sound, followed by approximately five gunshots.
Thereafter, he was asked to assist in moving the body. He held Dowers’ feet and along with “Fathead” they took the body up approximately 300 feet up into the bush. He testified that later on that said day he returned to the area where the body was left upon instructions from “Kyo” and brought it back down in the company of other persons where it was left in a ravine. The body was never found.
Under cross examination, Romain admitted that he was not only a drug addict at the time but used to sells drugs and hide guns. He also admitted that he did not know the actual names of the five accused. At the trial, Romain also failed to point out two of the accused persons who were seated in the docks.
When they were arrested, all of the accused men provided alibis which were not investigated. Some of them had government jobs which made cross checking of provided alibis easy since the alleged incident occurred during a weekday.
Sebastian Peterson and Evans Welch represented Clive Charles; Vince Charles and Danielle Rampersad appeared for Joseph Sammy; Mario Merritt, Survana Jaimangal, Randall Raphael, and Enrique Singh, appeared for Jassu Gafoor; Susan Kalipersad and Stacy Benjamin Roach for Qwesi Charles, and Tonya Thomas and Shaunelle Hamilton, for Markus Julien.
