Tommy Lee will beat scamming charge - Attorney confident

Tommy Lee's attorney Ernest Smith believes the entertainer and his co-accused O'Brian Smith will be exonerated in their lottery scamming trial currently under way in the Supreme Court, downtown Kingston.

After yesterday's second day, the attorney expressed confidence that a no-case submission, if entered, would be upheld.

Tommy Lee, given name Leroy Russell, and three others were initially charged in February 2014 on suspicion of breaches of the Law Reform (Fraudulent Transaction) (Special Provisions) Act, 2013.

However, no evidence was offered for two of the accused who were later released.

The men were charged after investigations stemming from a traffic stop led police to a Kingston 5 apartment, where lottery scam paraphernalia was seized.

In court yesterday, Woman Constable Maxine Thomas, who said she was an integral part of the investigating team, said under cross-examination that Junior 'Heavy D' Fraser "told us that he rented the apartment on behalf of Mr Russell."

REMOVING LAPTOP

Smith asked: "Why wasn't that included in your statement?"

"I didn't put it in my statement because I did not think it was relevant at the time," she said.

Smith further asked: "Didn't Mr Russell deny ownership of everything found at the apartment?" Thomas replied, "No, he did not sir."

The second witness, investigating officer Detective Sergeant Mark Williams, told the court that he observed another sergeant removing a laptop from behind a washing machine.

The court was told that the four suspects were cautioned and asked to whom the laptop belonged.

Williams said: "One of the accused said that 'all of us use the laptop', then Mr Smith went on to say he was the one who hid it behind the washing machine, hiding it from the children."

Under cross-examination, Williams admitted that a former police officer, Lionel Hamilton, had access to all the evidential material he handed over to the cybercrime unit.

Williams also said that he has not seen the evidence since 2014.