Clarendon bloodbath #2

[Sinco01]

Re: Clarendon bloodbath #2

KRAAL TRIAL: DAY 26 - Testimony halted
published: Tuesday | December 6, 2005

Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter

THE KRAAL murder case has been put off until tomorrow to give the prosecution sufficient time to get vital witnesses it needs to testify before it closes its case this week.

Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe, yesterday advised the prosecution to ensure that the witnesses are made available because he did not want to hear tomorrow that the witnesses were "on their way".

East Kingston businessman Danhai Williams is one of the witnesses the prosecution intends to call at the trial of Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams and five other policemen.

They have been on trial in the Home Circuit Court since October 31 for the murder of four civilians at Kraal, Clarendon, on May 7, 2003.

CELL SITE ANALYSIS

Yesterday David Bristow, U.K. forensic engineer, said he was asked by the Metropolitan Police in London to come to Jamaica to give his expertise in relation to certain events at Kraal. In coming to his opinion as to the locations at which three mobile phones were used on May 7, 2003, he said he used a technique called cell site analysis.

Mr. Bristow said he received the call data records for the three phones, information from Digicel, and copies of the map of Jamaica. He used a Power Point presentation in court to demonstrate his data analysis to show which cell sites the phones used to make calls and at what time.

In relation to one mobile phone, which he referred to as the pink phone, he said it was used in the vicinity of the cell site at Windward Road, east Kingston. In relation to the other two phones, which the Crown is alleging belonged to one of the policemen who went to Kraal on the night of May, 7, 2003, he referred to it as a green phone. He said that phone was used in the vicinity of the cell site at Bull Head, Clarendon, which served the Kraal community.

[Sinco01]

Re: Clarendon bloodbath #2

KRAAL TRIAL: DAY 28 - Danhai remains a no-show
published: Thursday | December 8, 2005

Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter


CHIEF JUSTICE Lensley Wolfe yesterday threw out an application by the prosecution to put into evidence the statement which east Kingston businessman Danhai Williams had given to the police.

The application was made after Williams did not turn up to testify at the murder trial of Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams and the other five policemen charged with murder.

They have been on trial since October 31 for the murder of four civilians at Kraal, Clarendon, on May 7, 2003.

After Williams did not attend court yesterday, Prosecutor Terrence Williams said he was making an application under section 31D (d) of the Evidence Act in regard to the witness who is number 36 on the back of the indictment. Williams is number 36 on the back of the indictment which sets out the charges against the accused.

PERSON CANNOT BE FOUND

The section under which the prosecution was seeking to put in the statement states that the statement of a person in criminal proceedings can be admissible if it is proved to the satisfaction of the court that the person "cannot be found after all reasonable steps have been taken to find him."

Defence lawyers said they were opposing the application. Lengthy submissions were then made in the absence of the jury.

When the jury was recalled into court, the prosecution said it would not be calling two witnesses from Cable and Wireless who had been attending court since last week, to testify at the trial.

The Crown is alleging at the trial that the policemen were not acting in self-defence when the civilians were fatally shot. The prosecution is alleging that persons, including Bashington Douglas, also called 'Chen Chen' and 'Shortman', were at a house at Kraal when the policemen went there and opened fire at them.

The other policemen on trial are corporals Patrick Coke and Shane Lyons and Constables Devon Bernard, Roderick Collier and Leford Gordon.

They are charged with the murder of 47-year-old Angella Richards, 39-year-old Lowena Thompson and Kirk Douglas and Matthew James, both 29 years old.

More Lead Stories


...Police unable to locate him
published: Thursday | December 8, 2005


DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT Fitz Bailey said yesterday that while an arrest warrant is out for businessman and People's National Party (PNP) activist, Danhai Williams, he is expected to return to the Corporate Area Criminal Court next Wednesday.

Mr. Williams was among six persons arrested in October 2003 in connection with irregularities uncovered in the Operation PRIDE housing project, in which $450 million was unaccounted for.

He has also been subpoenaed to testify as a witness for the prosecution in the current Kraal trial in which SSP Reneto Adams and five other policemen have been charged with the murder of four persons, including two women.

However, the police have been unable to locate Mr. Williams, preventing the prosecution from putting him on the stand up to now.

REPORT TO POLICE

As part of his condition of bail, Mr. Williams was supposed to be reporting to the Rollington Town police at least once per week. However, checks by senior officers have revealed that he has not been reporting to the police, as there was no entry in the station diary to show that he had gone in as required.

Head of the Kingston East Police Division, Superintendent Doric Sinclair, said the investigation into the circumstances in which Mr. Williams had stopped reporting was progressing smoothly.

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Re: Clarendon bloodbath #2

The prosecution rests in week six after key witness fails to show
Crawle Trial
Carl Gilchrist
Sunday, December 11, 2005



On trial for murder: Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams, Sergeant Roderick Collier, Corporal Leford Gordon, Constable Patrick Coke, Constable Devon Bernard, and Constable Shane Lyons.

The victims: Lewina Thompson, Angella Richards, Kirk Gordon, and Matthew James.

The defence lawyers: K Churchill Neita, Jacqueline Samuels-Brown and Christine Hudson; Valerie Neita-Robertson and Gladstone Wilson; Earl Witter and Errol Gentles; Oswest Senior-Smith and Althea McBean; Deborah Martin; and Robert Fletcher.

The prosecutors: DPP Kent Pantry, acting senior deputy DPP David Fraser, acting deputy DPP Donald Bryan, acting crown counsel Chester Crooks, and Terrence Williams, DPP of the British Virgin Islands.
The judge: Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe.

Monday:
The trial resumed with testimony from a phone expert who told the court that calls were made from three mobile phones to Crawle on the day of the killings.

Davis Bristo, forensic engineer of 28 years, said he created a scheduled call record at the request of the London Metropolitan police, to pinpoint the time and locations of calls.

Using a Powerpoint presentation, Bistro testified that the calls were made by Digicel handsets, which he tagged using colour codes:

. green phone 354-3357 was used by a sergeant Ballen who was with Corporal Ramsay when a gun was collected at 15B Homestead Road, East Kingston which Reneto Adams was later said to have planted at the death scene;

. pink phone 367-1966 as used by witness Michael Murray; and
. blue phone 429-7349, whose user was not identified in court.
Bistro testified that calls were made in Kingston, Spanish Town, Chapelton and Crawle but he was unable to pinpoint the exact location of the calls, only their general position.

Wednesday:
The trial resumes after a day's break, with a new blow to the prosecution. Key witness Danhai Williams again fails to show and Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe denies a prosecution request for his statements given before the trial to be admitted into evidence.

The objection to having his statement admitted was raised by Jacqueline Samuels-Brown who appears for Adams in the Crawle case, but also appeared for Williams in October 2003 when the businessman was arraigned on fraud charges.

Williams has also failed to keep his twice-weekly appointments with the Rollington Town police, where he is to report as a condition of his bail in the fraud case. An arrest warrant has been issued for his detention.

Thursday:
Williams remains incognito and the prosecution wraps up its case. Defence lawyers begin immediately to file no case submissions in the absence of the jury.
Some 43 witnesses testified for the crown during the six weeks.

Friday:
Defence lawyers continued their submissions. Wolfe to hand down his ruling before 2:00 pm before jurors are called back into the stands.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html...ILS_TO_SHOW.asp

[Wardob]

Re: Clarendon bloodbath #2



Three of the six policemen charged in connection with the fatal shooting of four persons in Kraal, Clarendon have been freed.

Constables Roderick Collier, Lenford Gordon and Devon Bernard were freed on Monday after Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe upheld no case submissions by their attorneys.

However the Chief Justice ruled that Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams, Shane Lyons and Patrick Cooke have a case to answer

[Wardob]

Re: Clarendon bloodbath #2

Hey Tuff, you out there? I guess you know by now Adams and the rest walk, they were acquitted. Didn’t I tell you no Jury anywhere in Jamaica would convict these guys? Plus the Judge on their side.

Check this Editorial from the Gleaner:-


The chieft Justice protest too much

CHIEF JUSTICE Lensley Wolfe lost his cool in court on Friday in a manner that demonstrated a remarkable absence of dignity and decorum in the high office he holds.
The target of his wrath, Dr. Carolyn Gomes from the lobby group Jamaicans For Justice, may well have behaved in an inappropriate manner by demonstrating her dissent through body language during the Chief Justice's summation in the Kraal case. In which case there are avenues of censure available to the Chief Justice, other than an intemperate outburst in court.
Presiding judges do have the authority to maintain order during court proceedings conducted in accordance with strict rules of procedure. Apart from participating attorneys, members of the public are not expected to conduct themselves in a manner in court that is aimed at influencing the court's decision, especially in a jury trial. At the same time, the Chief Justice should face the fact that the people of this country are demanding more of their politicians, more of the police, and more from the courts and the judges of this country. He says that he protects justice in this country. We take him to speak not as an individual, but as the head of Jamaica's courts of general jurisdiction. The courts in fact do not do an adequate job of protecting justice. Too many people languish in jail awaiting trial. Trials take years to come on for hearing. Adjournments are the rule, not the exception. Witnesses are intimidated. The backlog in the courts prevents justice from being done. In his position, the Chief Justice must take a great deal of responsibility for this, even if ultimately, the blame rests with the Government through the Ministry of Justice.
We would remind the Chief Justice that in the very Kraal case over which he has presided, a key prosecution witness did not appear to give testimony. This key witness said that he was uncomfortable giving testimony. But he was under subpoena in this case and out on bail in another. He had been violating the terms of his bail, by not reporting regularly to the police. And when he was 'found' and brought before the court in relation to another case, he was fined, but was still not required to give the testimony in relation to the Kraal case.
Was the very young girl, who had a parent killed at Kraal and who gave testimony, less uncomfortable? What on earth is going on with our courts?
The Chief Justice suggested that Mrs. Gomes has a "hidden agenda". That agenda, as demonstrated through the work of Jamaicans For Justice, is hardly hidden. Indeed, they announce it publicly at every opportunity. They, and many others like them, are part of civil society's response to a national security and justice system which has gone off the rails. The Chief Justice, in his outburst, and the judicial system, in its handling of Mr. Danhai Williams, are evidence of a serious problem which urgently needs to be fixed

[Magnum]

Re: Clarendon bloodbath #2

Wardob posted: "Hey Tuff, you out there? I guess you know by now Adams and the rest walk, they were acquitted. Didn’t I tell you no Jury anywhere in Jamaica would convict these guys? Plus the Judge on their side."

Aquitted?
True?
[img]/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

[Magnum]

Re: Clarendon bloodbath #2

True!

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ADAMS FREED........But Crawle cops remain sidelined

Must undergo psychological tests
TK Whyte, Observer staff reporter
Wednesday, December 21, 2005



Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams, surrounded by jubilant supporters, strikes a triumphant pose on leaving the Supreme Court yesterday after he and two of his colleagues, corporals Shane Lyons and Patrick Coke, were found not guilty of murder in the shooting deaths of four persons in Crawle, Clarendon in May 2003. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

SENIOR Superintendent Reneto Adams and two more of his former CMU subordinates were freed of murder yesterday, and the fast-talking, tough cop immediately sent a message to criminals: he'll soon be back on the streets, so they better head for cover.

"I want to tell the criminal elements something this evening," Adams told reporters after a jury had declared he and corporals Shane Lyons and Patrick Coke not guilty and Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe set them free. "Those of you who have returned from England, Canada, the United States or the Caribbean... or from everywhere since we have left the streets... talking about they have returned to take over the streets, I am imploring them, beseeching them to return from whence they came because so as it was in the beginning, so shall it be in the end."

Added Adams: "My men and I will continue where we left off and that is in protection of the Jamaican people against criminal elements. The only difference now is our resolve will be multiplied tenfold."

But for all his bravado, Adams, 56, may have a long wait before he even gets backs into uniform, much more back on the streets, given a statement last night from the police chief, Lucius Thomas, indicating that the Crawle Six - the policemen acquitted yesterday and three others, constables Devon Bernard, Roderick Collier and Lenford Gordon who were freed nine days ago - will have to undergo long periods of counselling and psychological evaluation before being allowed back on the force.


Senior Superintendent Reneto Adam (right) is greeted by supporters outside the Supreme Court yesterday. (Photos: Garfield Robinson)

"The Jamaica Constabulary Force has a clear policy regarding reinstatement of policemen and women, who, for varying reasons, are not able to conduct normal duties for over one year," Thomas said. "The policemen and women must engage in counselling, conducted by members of the Force chaplaincy, headed by the Rev Dr Vivian Panton."

Additionally, the police commissioner said, such officers had to undergo assessment from the JCF's clinical psychologist, Dr George Leverage - the length of which would be determined by the findings of the professionals. It was after these "compulsory sessions" that a final assessment would be done and recommendations sent to the police commissioner for a final decision.

"It is therefore premature, at this stage, to comment on where the policemen charged in the Crawle trial will be redeployed in the JCF," Thomas said.

Adams and his Crime Management Unit colleagues, a police squad that human rights groups claimed engaged in extra-judicial executions, were accused of murdering four persons in the Clarendon village of Crawle in May 2003.


Corporal Patrick Coke (centre) is congratulated by supporters outside the Supreme Court yesterday. Coke, Corporal Shane Lyons and Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams were freed of murder in the Crawle trial.

But the police at the time claimed that the four - Angella Richards, Lowena Thompson, Matthew James and Kirk Gordon - were killed during a gunfight, when policemen came under fire, having gone to arrest a wanted man, Bashington "Chen Chen" Douglas.

During the eight-week trial, the Crown called 43 witnesses, and portrayed the Crawle shootings as an execution, after which Adams planted a gun collected by other cops from the offices of an East Kingston construction company, to suggest that there had been a firefight.

But last week Monday, Wolfe upheld no-case submissions on behalf of Bernard, Collier and Gordon, but ruled that prima facie cases had been made out against the others.
Adams, Lyons and Coke gave unsworn statements to the court and called a British forensic expert, who was down to give evidence for the prosecution but was not called to dispute definitive findings reported by the Jamaican government's ballistic expert.

Yesterday, after five-and-a-half hours of deliberation, the jury of seven women and five men returned a verdict of "not guilty". At least three times jurors called to see exhibits, including video footage of the crime scene shot by CVM Television.

"You are free to go," Wolfe told the defendants.
"Thank you, my lord," they responded in unison.

Wolfe relieved the jurors of such duty for five years.
As the jury's foreman delivered the verdict, the decibels in the courtroom began to rise, but the judge quickly cut off the celebrators and potential dissenters.

"Anybody I see reacting. going to leave the courtroom. You can react after you leave the courtroom," he said.
Outside the courthouse, the charismatic Adams, who was known on the streets for his SWAT team garb, was greeted by a throng of supporters.

Adams congratulated Wolfe's handling of the case, saying that the chief justice "saw to it that justice was always revealed even when the prosecution tried to conceal particular evidence from the trial".

He described the verdict of the jurors as the "mother of all acquittals", a reference to his pronouncement at the time he was charged that this would have been "the mother of all trials".

Lead defence attorney Churchill Neita QC, pointing to the length of the jury's deliberation, said: "This means they gave it (the evidence) proper and due consideration so I am not surprised at the verdict. We believe it is a proper verdict on the evidence that the prosecution presented in the case."

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html...N_SIDELINED.asp

[Magnum]

Re: Clarendon bloodbath #2

No further comments from anyone?

**sigh**

I guess the result was expected.

**shrugs**

Sad, really. Sad that an important witness was shot dead before the trial. She gave her life in vain. Vale Sophileta Clayton. You may have gone, but you're not forgotten. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/70384-praying.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/graemlins/70384-praying.gif[/img]

Magnum

[Tuff Gong]

Re: Clarendon bloodbath #2

[ QUOTE ]
No further comments from anyone?

**sigh**

I guess the result was expected.

**shrugs**

Sad, really. Sad that an important witness was shot dead before the trial. She gave her life in vain. Vale Sophileta Clayton. You may have gone, but you're not forgotten. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/70384-praying.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/graemlins/70384-praying.gif[/img]

Magnum

[/ QUOTE ]

Like (S)Adams once said, I have a million words to say about this, but most likely they will remain unsaid.
Like (S)Adams Ja$19Bil, is enough to buy silence.

The debate is still raging, I myself have been faithfully collecting, collating, archiving anything and everything that mentions:

Kraal
(S)Adams
The Mother of all trials
The Mother of all acquittals, etc.

Like (S)Adams I am of the opinion that Jamaica will pay dearly, dearly.
As to very dead Ms. Clayton, the question is who got rid of her? The defense is making out that she may have been removed because she was (S) Adams’ Spotter and would have fingered Chen Chen.
The problem is Chen Chen was not on trial at Kraal.
(S)Adams and company were on trial, if Ms. Clayton's testimony could not holdup then the consequences would have been greater and more detrimental to the defense rather than Chen Chen the witness.

I think the prosecution case was poorly organized and presented. The shock value of having two of the cops who were intimately involved and the little girl who could have been blown to bits was nullified by the lack of coordination and key supporting elements, such as the failure to present to the court the body one Comrade Danhai Williams.
If I was Chen Chen I would be very worried right now!

One thing for sure, was I a Jamaican, (especially and poor one) living in Jamaica at this time, I would overstand that:

The State is my enemy. A well oil, well kept gun would be de rigueur, comrades who can keep their traps shut is must for survival, pre-emptive or re-active actions taken to nullify the enemy must be swift, direct and efficient.

Long life should not be taken as a granted. Keep out of the clutches of the State in as far as possible while maintaining some semblance of uprightness, meaning:

Get a TRN
Get an ID
Get a little BS Job, that will give you time to pursue you other activities
Keep as wide a network as possible, without the necessity of traveling.
Use the phone judiciously, while keeping communication to the point.

That would be my advice to my comrades, associates and all Jamaican males, especially ones living on the edge in the garrisons and hellholes on the Rock.

[Magnum]

Re: Clarendon bloodbath #2

As to very dead Ms. Clayton, the question is who got rid of her?
--------------------------------
I agree. A very pertinent question.

Will we ever know the answer?

I hope so, for the sake of the memory of Sandra (as she preferred to be known), but I doubt it.
..................................


she was (S) Adams’ Spotter
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Did the Defence say that? In fact what did they **actually** say about her? (Serious question - I don't know.)
........................................



TG: You might like to include "Crawle", in your "Kraal" watch. I'm pretty certain that is the official name for the road - likely named after some early Englishman. It is, after all an ancient English family name.

In any case, go-ogling "Crawle" comes up with relevant hits.


Magnum

[Tuff Gong]

Re: Clarendon bloodbath #2

As to very dead Ms. Clayton, the question is who got rid of her?
--------------------------------
[ QUOTE ]
I agree. A very pertinent question.

Will we ever know the answer?

I hope so, for the sake of the memory of Sandra (as she preferred to be known), but I doubt it.

[/ QUOTE ]

I doubt it will be known officially but in the streets it will be talked about.
I know for sure that SACTF led by (S)Adams have claimed at least one kill that was carried out be street thugs. It was a friend of a friend of a friend.


she was (S) Adams’ Spotter
-----------------------
[ QUOTE ]
Did the Defence say that? In fact what did they **actually** say about her? (Serious question - I don't know.)

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes the defence named her as one of the informants who saw Chen Chen and Co sitting on the verandah of the Kraal House.

[ QUOTE ]
TG: You might like to include "Crawle", in your "Kraal" watch. I'm pretty certain that is the official name for the road - likely named after some early Englishman. It is, after all an ancient English family name.

In any case, go-ogling "Crawle" comes up with relevant hits.


Magnum

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes I do include Crawle in my search. The Kraal spelling is actually the correct spelling and the word comes to us from Africa.... I think it means a compound.

[Magnum]

Re: Clarendon bloodbath #2

Yes the defence named her as one of the informants who saw Chen Chen and Co sitting on the verandah of the Kraal House.
=============================================
OK.
Thanks TG.

[Tuff Gong]

Re: Clarendon bloodbath #2

Magnum my friend seems as if we are both right.
Here is what must be the definitive on Kraal/Crawle:

Beckford Kraal - Clarendon
Located four miles west of Chapelton on the way to Thompson Town

Named after the Beckford family who were granted land here by royal patent in 1669

Beckford Kraal - Clarendon


Beckford Kraal, Jamaica Page

[Sinco01]

Re: Clarendon bloodbath #2

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[Tuff Gong]

Re: Clarendon bloodbath #2


Wed Apr 19, 2006
Police arrest man accused of killing Kraal witness

The Clarendon police have taken a man into custody, who they say is responsible for the death of a woman who was a key witness in the Kraal case.
The identity of the 25-year-old man has not been released as he is scheduled to face an identification parade.

It is reported that the police accosted the man early Wednesday morning during an operation in the community of Pennant, shortly after seven o'clock.

The police report that on the morning of July 16, 2004, Sophelita Clayton, was sleeping at home when a man entered the house and opened fire.

She died on the spot.

About two days later it was discovered that she was a key witness in the Kraal trial.

Defence attorneys at the trial had used excerpts from her statement to prove that gunmen fired at the police from the house in Kraal.

Four persons, including two women, were killed at the house.

Former head of the Crime Management Unit, Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams, and five members of his unit were freed of murder at the Kraal trial.

Police arrest man accused of killing Kraal witness