Witness in Clansman Gang trial recounts finding friend shot on verandah

A prosecution witness in the Clansman Gang trial told the court he returned from a shop to find a friend lying across the verandah of his home with multiple gunshot wounds and another man bloodied.

The witness, a mechanic, during his evidence-in-chief yesterday, said he shared a father–son relationship with the now deceased man, William Christian, who was gunned down at his Fairview Park, St Catherine residence.

The incident occurred on April 18, 2020, and is related to count 19 of the prosecution’s 32-count indictment where defendants Michael Wildman and Lamar Rowe are charged with murder.

Both men pleaded not guilty.

In his evidence-in-chief, the mechanic told the court that earlier that morning he had been working on Christian’s motor car at Christian’s home in Eltham, before the two men went to his home, where they had drinks with another man who had joined them.

He said they were drinking “rum and Boom and Campari” when he left the premises to purchase food items from a shop near the square in Winter’s Pen.

MAN WITH BLOODY FEET

According to the witness, Christian, also called ‘Christopher’, lent him his car to make the trip.

When he returned to the house about 20 minutes to half an hour later, he said he saw one of the men coming from the side of the house.

“The wall is very low, so I could see him in the yard,” the witness told the court, adding that the man appeared to have blood on his foot and was dressed in a pair of jeans.

The mechanic said that after driving into the yard, he then saw Christian.

“I saw Christopher laying across the verandah on the ground,” he said.

He told the court that Christian had sustained multiple gunshot wounds.

The witness said he removed a bag belonging to Christian from the car and placed it on the verandah before calling for help.

He said he, along with others, rushed Christian and the injured man to hospital in the motor car.

“Somebody hold his (Christian) two foot them and we put him in the back seat and lay him down,” he said.

“It never take me no time, because we push the car as hard as we can to get the man to the hospital,” the mechanic told the prosecutor, when asked how long it took them to arrive at hospital.

UNRESPONSIVE

The witness said porters at the hospital removed Christian from the vehicle and took him inside.

However, he told the court that Christian appeared to be unresponsive when they arrived.

“Christian wasn’t breathing or anything when I brought him at the hospital,” he said.

“I said, ‘Chris, talk to me, talk to me,’ and I shake him.”

The witness said the other injured man was placed in a wheelchair at the hospital and pushed around by hospital staff.

He also told the court that police later instructed him to report to the station for questioning.

He said he drove Christian’s motor car to the station while police personnel followed him.

At the Spanish Town Criminal Investigation Branch, he gave a statement to investigators before he was taken into custody and locked up at the Linstead Police Station from Saturday until Wednesday.

During cross-examination by defence attorneys, the witness confirmed that he gave two statements to the police, one while in custody and another after he was released.

He said he could not recall the exact date when he was questioned by the investigators.

“If me tell you the date, a lie me a tell,” he said, under cross-examination by attorney Tameka Harris, who represents Rowe.

The witness also said his girlfriend had arranged for a lawyer to represent him at the time, but he could not recall the attorney’s name.

During the proceedings, the court was shown several photographs of the premises at Henry Crescent, including images of the yard, the roadway, and the low pink wall from which the witness said he observed the injured man.

He was asked by Sheneka Sparks, who along with Paul Gentles represents Wildman, about his ability to see his house from the roadway.

“If you were parked in front of the gate beside your house, could you see into your yard?” Sparks asked.

“Yes, Ma’am,” the witness responded sharply.

She rephrased the question and asked, if he was seated in a car, whether he could see into his yard, and he responded in the affirmative.

The trial is scheduled to continue today, when the prosecution is expected to call additional witnesses.

Yesterday, the Crown indicated that the case involving alleged Clansman Gang leader Tesha Miller and 24 co-accused was moving faster than initially anticipated.

andre.williams@gleanerjm.com