Gabriel King’s mom now liable for arrest — police
ST JAMES, Jamaica — The police say they will attempt to locate Amoi Leon-Issa to enforce a court ruling that she grant them access to her phone as they investigate the murder of her nine-year-old son, Gabriel King.
After twice refusing to comply with a court order to provide the password for the phone, Leon-Issa is now liable for arrest, lawmen told OBSERVER ONLINE on Friday.
“What we will be doing now is to make contact with her and to follow through with the orders of the court,” head of the Police Area One, Assistant Commissioner of Police Clifford Chambers, said on Friday afternoon. “At this point… she can be arrested for breaching the court order.”
Thursday was the latest deadline missed and Leon-Issa’s attorney, Chuckwuemeka Cameron, indicated that evening that she had given him the go-ahead to appeal the court’s decision to grant access to her iPhone 13 Pro Max.
On Friday Cameron doubled down on those comments but would not say whether he had filed the necessary paperwork. However, ACP Chambers said the police have not been served with any legal documents to indicate that an appeal has been filed.
The police have indicated a desire to analyse information on the device as part of their investigation into the killing of Leon-Issa’s autistic son. The court has ruled that she must comply with the request for her password, she is not allowed to be present while her phone is being analysed by experts, but her attorney and a technology expert may observe the process.
The legal wrangling over access to Leon-Issa’s phone began on September 6 when the court granted the police’s request for her to allow them access within 48 hours. When that deadline was missed, lawmen again took the issue to court last Friday and the judge issued a new six-day deadline that day. That was also missed.
On January 13, young King was found with his throat slashed and his body slumped on the back seat of his mother’s car. She had reported to the police, minutes earlier, that her car had been hijacked with the child inside. The shocking murder was widely condemned, with the police being urged to bring the boy’s killer or killers to justice.
Lawmen have steadily maintained that they have met roadblocks while working the case.
