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'Kidnapped' cop cleared on gun-related charges
Will on May 22 answer charges of murdering his wife
Paul Henry
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
RAYMOND Campbell, the Montego Bay constable who allegedly shot at three of his colleagues during an investigation into a stolen motor vehicle, was cleared of gun-related charges in the High Court on Friday.
In making her decision in the High Court Division of the Gun Court, Justice Jennifer Straw flatly rejected the cop's version of the story. But Straw, at the same time, admitted that she could not convict Campbell, as the Crown did not satisfy her beyond a reasonable doubt - as required by law - of the accused's guilt.
The Crown had alleged that on January 24, 2007, Campbell engaged three of his colleagues in a shoot-out before making good his escape.
But the following day, the cops were called to a banana walk where an injured Campbell was held with his licensed firearm and an illegal gun. He was charged with two counts of illegal possession of firearm, one count of illegal possession of ammunition and a count of shooting with intent.
The undoing of the prosecution's case was in the fact that one of the cops involved in the shooting only identified Campbell by name a week after the alleged incident and another only identified Campbell as the shooter six months later when he finally wrote his statement. This, despite the fact that all three cops said they knew Campbell prior to the incident.
In his defence, Campbell, who was represented by attorney Peter Champagnie, told the court that he was kidnapped by four carjackers and that he was only able to escape after disarming one of his capturers who fell asleep.
"I don't believe your story. It's unbelievable," Straw said, while lamenting the police's lack of investigating capability and the holes in the Crown's case.
However, Campbell is not yet off the hook. He is to appear in the Home Circuit Court on May 22 for the August 2008 murder of his wife Kerry-Ann Brown-Campbell.
Campbell is jointly charged with co-accused Greg Cameron for murder and conspiracy to murder stemming from the shooting death of Brown-Campbell, which took place while Campbell was on bail for the first incident.
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