Accused cop’s illness draws brakes on Acadia murder trial

The murder trial of five policemen charged in connection with the fatal shooting of three men in St Andrew in 2013 was adjourned until June 18 after one of the accused reported being ill.

The matter, which is before the Home Circuit Court, had already been scheduled to break today and resume on June 17 because one of the defence attorneys was unavailable.

Before the adjournment yesterday, defence attorney Hugh Wildman continued his cross-examination of a ballistic expert and superintendent of police, focusing on spent casings recovered from the scene and an Arcus pistol, one of two firearms recovered following the shooting.

Referring to a spent casing that had been matched to the Arcus pistol, Wildman asked whether that evidence was consistent with someone in possession of the firearm firing it on the day of the incident.

"What I can say, yes sir, is that a spent casing said to be taken from the crime scene, which was submitted to me, matched the test fires from that said firearm," the witness replied.

Wildman then suggested that, based on the witness' report, the spent casing had come from someone who was in the yard.

However, lead prosecutor Kathy-Ann Pyke objected, arguing that the witness could not speak to how the spent casing came to be where it was found.

"One of the possibilities is that someone was there firing, but who was firing and under what conditions, that is for the jury to determine," she said.

Wildman also questioned the witness about whether the Arcus pistol would emit less gunshot residue than other firearms because of its design.

The witness responded that he could not say that with certainty, explaining that the amount of gunshot residue produced depends on several factors, including the design and condition of the firearm, the condition of the ammunition and environmental conditions at the time it is fired.

He told the court that proper testing would be required before such a conclusion could be reached and noted that no such testing was conducted in this case.

The witness was also questioned about a submachine gun recovered from the scene. He confirmed that the weapon was capable of firing in single-shot mode and was designed to fire 9mm ammunition.

Attention later turned to spent casings recovered during the investigation that could not be matched to any of the firearms submitted for examination.

Wildman then sought to explore whether the unmatched spent casings could suggest the involvement of a fourth gunman.

Before the witness could answer, Pyke objected, arguing that there was no evidence before the court of a fourth gunman and that the question required the witness to speculate.

The witness maintained that his role was limited to determining whether ballistic matches existed between firearms and spent casings and not to determining who fired a particular weapon.

The presiding judge, Justice Sonia Bertram-Linton, upheld the objection.

Towards the end of the day's proceedings, Wildman turned his attention to an addendum report prepared by the witness after his original ballistic examination.

The witness confirmed that the addendum related to the case and involved three service pistols that were later submitted by investigators for testing.

According to the witness, the firearms were submitted because investigators were attempting to determine whether spent casings recovered from the scene, which had not been matched to any of the weapons previously examined, could have been fired from those pistols.

However, the witness told the court that none of the three service pistols matched the spent casings.

The witness also said he was unable to say whether any of the items examined in relation to the addendum had been placed before the court.

Sergeant Simroy Mott, Corporal Donovan Fullerton and Constables Orandy Rose, Andrew Smith and Sheldon Richards are on trial for the murders of Eucliffe Dyer, Matthew Lee and Mark Allen, who were fatally shot along Acadia Drive in St Andrew on January 12, 2013.

The court has previously heard that the policemen reported being involved in a shootout with the men after signalling a blue Mitsubishi Outlander to stop at a vehicle checkpoint. According to the officers, the occupants exited the vehicle and opened fire, leading to an exchange of gunfire.

Two illegal firearms, an Arcus pistol and a submachine gun, were reportedly recovered following the incident.

The witness is expected to continue giving evidence when the trial resumes.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com