COMMISSIONER of Police Owen Ellington yesterday expressed satisfaction with the guilty verdict handed down by the jurors for entertainer Vybz Kartel and three of his four co-accused for the murder of Clive Williams, alias ‘Lizard’.

“This case was a very long haul. Many man hours were spent in gathering the evidence and in the end we got the verdict we wanted,” said Ellington, who is currently aboard on official police business.

“The guilty verdict is a victory for law and order; it is a decisive statement for justice and it is a victory for an acceptable public morality,” Ellington said, adding that despite the 13C temperature he was experiencing some warmth had been restored when he was informed of the guilty verdict. “Now we have every good reason to have faith in our justice system,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Commissioner Ellington was also effusive in his praises for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and her team. “I cannot tell you how proud I am of Paula Llewellyn and her team. They stayed the course; they wanted justice to prevail and the country should be grateful for their professionalism, their commitment and the competence they displayed,” he said.

The police chief also had special commendations for the men and women of the police force. “I am pleased to lead a team of police men and women who I wholeheartedly thank for the quality of the investigation done over a protracted period of time — the painstaking manner in which they prepared the various case files, the diligence they displayed, and their co-operation with the Office of the DPP,” he said.