THE absence of three prosecution witnesses in the trial of six policemen charged with the March 2001 murder of seven young men in Braeton, St Catherine, caused yesterday’s sitting to end prematurely in the Home Circuit Court.

Trial judge Justice Donald McIntosh issued bench warrants of arrest for the two civilian witnesses who had failed to appear, and directed Assistant Commissioner of Police Keith “Trinity” Gardener to have the them arrested and brought to court today. The other witness is a policeman.

“I want the warrants to be executed today (yesterday) so assistant commissioner (Gardener) I want you to get the warrants and take them (witnesses) in custody immediately,” the judge instructed. He said if the witnesses were not found Gardener would be required to testify in court today why they were not arrested.

Senior deputy director of public prosecutions Paula Llewellyn told the court that the two civilian witnesses – Golford Thompson and Delroy Laidley – were subpoenaed to testify yesterday. The subpoenas were served on December 17, 2004 and January 17, 2005.

However, she told the court that the other witness, Detective Sergeant Wilton Anderson, had migrated to New Jersey in the United States. Llewellyn told the court that Anderson had returned to Jamaica on two other occasions to testify, but only after the crown paid his expenses.

She suggested that the court might have to apply Section 3 (d) of the Evidence Amendment Act to Anderson’s case, which is to have his statement read in court. The only witness called yesterday was Detective Sergeant Albert Robinson of the Portmore police station, who was stationed at Old Harbour in March 2001.

He said on March 19, he went to the government forensic laboratory in Kingston but told the court he could not recall why he went there. However, he said that he spoke to a police officer he met there who gave him a 9mm semi-automatic pistol to hand over to lab personnel, which he did after completing the prescribed form. He said that he collected the firearm after it was tested and returned it to the officer on the same day.

Throughout his testimony and under cross examination, Robinson maintained, much to the annoyance of the trial judge, crown prosecutor and defence attorneys, that he could not recall anything about the firearm.

He admitted, under cross examination, that he only gave a statement to the police about the matter on January 26 and 28, 2005, and that he never gave a statement or testified at the coroner’s inquest in 2002.

The case continues today.

whytetk@jamaicaobserver.com