Witness laughs at defence attorney

The self-confessed member of the One Don Gang yesterday burst into a fit of laughter after he was questioned about the employment status of a defendant who it appeared had told his lawyer that he had been working at the Railway Corporation of Jamaica.

Attorney Keith Bishop, who represents Lamar Simpson, sought to poke holes in the witness' testimony during cross-examination yesterday in the Home Circuit Court.

The witness had testified that he met the defendant, who he called Sickhead, circa 2016/2017 and that he was a top-tier member of the gang and had taken part in the alleged execution of a bus driver in the Spanish Town bus park in St Catherine in 2017. Bishop also attempted to establish that his client had been working multiple one jobs in 2017 and lived in Manchester for most of that year.

"Were you aware that he was gainfully employed?" he asked. "No," the witness replied. Bishop then asked "You aware he was employed at the Railway Corporation of Jamaica?"

The witness before answering then started chuckling." That company you talk about is in the [Spanish Town] bus park. They use that company to collect extortion."

The lawyer, who appeared to be stunned into a brief moment of silence, then asked the witness if he was also aware that Simpson had worked for Tank-Weld Metals and also did construction work in Manchester.

But the witness, who continued laughing, said Simpson was in Spanish Town and that he knew nothing about him being employed. During further cross-examination, the lawyer suggested that the witness met his client while on a medical ward in prison but this was denied by the witness who insisted that Simpson was a top member of the gang and had meetings with reputed leader Andre Bryan and other members.

The witness also told the court that he was forced into the gang by Bryan and apologised to victims and their families for what he had done.

In the meantime, the witness, who admitted to several inconsistencies between his statement and his testimony, acknowledged that he had wrongly identified one of the defendants, Andre Smith. Under cross-examination from Smith's lawyer, Alexander Shaw, he said that he did not know who Smith was. The trial will continue today with the witness undergoing more cross-examination.