Anonymous call triggered INDECOM’s fatal shooting in Acadia probe 

A director at the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) on Monday testified that he received an anonymous call on the day three men were fatally shot on Acadia Drive in St Andrew in 2013, prompting investigators to respond to the scene.

Earlier in the trial, Agriculture Minister Floyd Green testified that he and a female companion had witnessed aspects of the shooting from their apartment window. He, however, denied making an anonymous call to INDECOM’s landline.

He also said he could not recall calling the director, who was among the investigators at the time, or whether his companion had made any such call.

The minister, however, admitted that he and the woman had written an anonymous letter detailing what they had witnessed and had sent it to INDECOM without including their names, address or telephone number.

The witness, who was among the first INDECOM personnel to respond to the incident, told the Home Circuit Court that he was at the agency’s Dumfries Road offices shortly after noon on January 12, 2013, when he received the call. He said he subsequently contacted the then commissioner and his deputy.

According to him, the call lasted approximately one to two minutes. The content of the conversation was not disclosed after defence attorney Hugh Wildman objected.

The testimony came during the trial of Sergeant Simroy Mott, Corporal Donovan Fullerton, and constables Andrew Smith, Sheldon Richards, Orandy Rose and Richard Lynch, who are charged in connection with the fatal shooting of Matthew Lee, Mark Allen and Ucliffe Dyer along Acadia Drive on January 12, 2013.

The witness said he arrived at the scene before 12:30 p.m. and found the area cordoned off with police tape. After identifying himself to officers at the perimeter, he was directed to the lead police investigator, a detective constable.

He said the detective provided a briefing and walked him through areas police had identified as part of the crime scene.

The witness explained that under the INDECOM Act, the commission has primacy over fatal police shooting investigations, and he was present to oversee and assist with the investigation.

“We have sole responsibility for the scene,” he told the court.

While being shown around, the witness said he observed several police personnel moving through areas later identified as part of the crime scene and instructed them to stop in order to preserve evidence.

He further testified that he observed what appeared to be bloodstains on a driveway and in a grassy area, a cap near a tree, and several spent shell casings near a blue Mitsubishi Outlander in which the three men had reportedly been travelling.

He also said he observed what appeared to be blood and human tissue inside the vehicle, “between the driver’s seat and the console.”

The witness added that he saw a senior police officer open the rear section of the Outlander and move his hands around inside before being instructed to stop.

According to the investigator, he was later shown two firearms in the trunk of a police vehicle parked outside the crime scene tape. One appeared to be a handgun, while the other was a larger firearm.

Returning to the issue of the anonymous letter, the witness said that after it was received, investigators conducted inquiries and eventually identified Green and the woman as the authors.

The court has ordered that the woman’s name not be published. She is also a witness in the case.

Asked how investigators determined who wrote the letter, the witness said it was done through witness canvassing and by checking who lived in the area.

He also told the court that statements were later obtained from the pair and that the anonymous letter formed part of the material in INDECOM’s possession during the investigation.

Asked whether investigators made efforts to identify other potential witnesses, the witness said they did, but those efforts were unsuccessful.

Green previously told the court that fear had prevented him from giving an immediate statement following the shooting. However, he maintained that he would not have taken any further steps had INDECOM not contacted him five years later.

“I believed that I had played my part,” Green had previously testified.

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

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com