THE trial involving 28 alleged members of the Klansman gang has been forced to adjourn until Monday, July 4 to allow some members of the defence time to get their case in order.

When the trial adjourned last Thursday, Chief Justice Bryan Sykes had indicated to the defence, who had said they would be calling character witnesses and presenting the custody diaries and admission books from correctional facilities which were subpoenaed, that “the producers of the records be prepared to, at the very least, say how the records are prepared”.

“We don’t want somebody to come and tell us that ‘I just started working there last month and I really don’t know how the records are prepared.’ We need somebody who is proficient enough who can speak to how the records are created,” the trial judge instructed then.

Adding that it would be good if the creators of the original records could be identified, Justice Sykes said in the event that this could not be done, a witness who could speak to the creation and keeping of the records should be brought, at best.

On Monday, when the matter resumed and a senior corrections officer from Horizon Adult Remand Centre took the stand, it became clear that there were gaps.

The senior staff officer, in being led through his evidence, said he supervised the individual who created the records of transfers and admissions.

In respect of the admission to the facility of the accused Kalifa Williams in 2017, he had no penal record prepared as the subpoena received had requested a penal record for another accused.

He was, however, unable to go further with his evidence, based on an objection raised by prosecutors who argued that the defence had not laid the foundation required by law for the testimony of the officer to be heard, as he was not the creator of the requested record and did not identify who had done so.

It was also revealed by the defence that the officers from the Spanish Town lock-up, who responded to the summons, did not have the information requested in relation to at least one accused, Donovan Richards.

Denise Hinson, attorney for Richards, said she was told that the book with his details “cannot be found”. She said while one book contained a part of the information, the other was “missing”. She further said the two officers from the facility merely “accompanied” the books and could not speak to the records.

Another attorney, Esther Reid, said the books presented Monday did not reflect what she needed for her client, Tareek James.

On Tuesday when the matter resumed, Justice Sykes, in querying the status of the records, was told that there had been an error on the subpoenas submitted requesting records from the Spanish Town station for three of the accused. The oversight had been spotted and was corrected, the court was told.

In the meantime, however, the creator of the admission documents for the Horizon facility, the court was told, was not available on Tuesday as expected, due to a prior commitment.

Justice Sykes, in adjourning the matter and commenting on the development, said “There is still some lack of clarity as to exactly who is needed as witnesses. The fact of the matter is that this really should have been sorted out from some time ago because the lawyers have been on the case for a year.

“They should have done this already. It seems as if the strategy was to wait until the end of the prosecution’s case, make no-case submissions, and then hope for the best,” the trial judge said.

In adjourning the matter to next Monday at 10:00 am, he said the attorneys would have no excuse when they returned as they would have sufficient time to “look to their hearts’ content and search high and low” to find the individuals who were needed.

“It can’t be said there is a lack of opportunity,” the trial judge reasoned.