The two crown witnesses, ex-members of the vicious Klansman Gang, who helped prosecutors topple key members of the criminal outfit have been commended by Jamaica’s chief prosecutor, Paula Llewellyn, King’s Counsel, for their courage in “putting Jamaica first”.

Testimonies by the Crown witnesses led to to the fall of condemned leader Andre “Blackman” Bryan and female cohort Stephanie Cole Christie, otherwise called “Mumma”, and securing the convictions for 15 of 33 accused members for murders, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, and membership in a criminal organisation.

The evidence of the two men, who gave testimony from a remote location, was the lynchpin of the Crown’s case in what was the largest gang trial in the country’s history and the Caribbean.

Wednesday, Chief Justice Bryan Sykes, who tried the matter alone, brought the curtains down on the case which began in September of 2021, handing out the last of the verdicts which saw the 15 individuals, inclusive of one female, being convicted and 17 being acquitted.

The 15 will be sentenced, starting July 3 this year, the nearly three-month bridge being allowed to enable the collection of social enquiry reports and antecedent reports for the convicted individuals which are required for the sentencing procedure.

Speaking with the Jamaica Observer Llewellyn said, “There were challenges along the way, but it in no way eclipsed the obvious and commendable courage of the two co-operating witnesses to give the evidence, as persons who one would say came from the river bottom inhabited by the accused.

“Their credibility was tremendously and very robustly tested by the nearly 40 defence counsel in cross-examination. And I think it is in the public domain that they had to answer some hard questions from the tribunal of fact and law, and they proved to be credible and reliable. And I would simply just say to those two witnesses, a big thank you for having, at the risk of appearing to be fanciful, putting Jamaica first. I would just give them a big thank you,” she said.

While declining to comment on the “challenges” to keep the men out of the reach of the ruthless lieutenants of the gang, who, based on the evidence in the trial did not take kindly to disloyalty of any ilk, Llewellyn said: “Notwithstanding some of the material that came out in evidence, in cases of this nature there will always be information that others outside will never know that the prosecution had, which includes the police, will have to hug it up.”

Llewellyn, in the meantime, had high praises for the team of four prosecutors and the police, including a lead investigator who played a key role in infiltrating the ranks of the criminal outfit, posing as the uncle of one of the witnesses who had switched allegiance from the gang.

“I would like to commend and congratulate the Jamaica Constabulary Force; certainly we thought the case was well investigated and it was a tribute to them in terms of being strategic and astute, courageous, and brave in respect of how they gathered the material,” Llewellyn stated.

In commending prosecutors, she said: “Commendations and congratulations should also go to my team of three very senior, experienced prosecutors, and a fourth who is a technological wizard.

“I commend my prosecutors for the kind of astute preparation of the case, the consultations and the numerous case conferences that they had going into the nights and weekends; it was very very tedious and time-consuming. I also commend them for their fortitude and mental toughness,” she said.

The convicted Klansman members, to be sentenced in July alongside Bryan and Cole-Christie are: Michael Whitely, Dylon McLean, Lamar Simpson, Tareek James, Fabian Johnson, Jahzeel Blake, Roel Taylor, Joseph McDermott, Jermaine Robinson, Andrae Golding, Tomrick Taylor, Brian Morris, and Ted Prince.

Those acquitted were Jason Brown, Marco Miller, Pete Miller, Ricardo Thomas, Carl Beech, Chevroy Evans, Kemar Harrison, Donovan Richards, Dwight Hall, Daniel McKenzie, Kalifa Williams, Kevaughn Green, Damaine Elliston, Rushane Williams, Rivaldo Hylton, Owen Ormsby, and Dwayne Salmon.

One accused, Andre Smith, who was out on bail during the trial, was murdered.

The Crown, in opening its case on September 20, 2021, said the accused individuals — which comprise the “Blackman faction” of the gang — had various roles in which they acted as “killers, drivers, lookout men or watchmen, gunsmiths and foot soldiers”.

The Crown alleged that the accused, between 2015 and 2019, carried out a range of murders, conspiracies to murder, and extortion and arson throughout the parish. It said the gang’s headquarters at Jones Avenue in Spanish Town was used by gang members for planning their exploits and was also where briefing and debriefing in respect of crimes that took place.

The court also heard that this was where transactions, such as the sale and purchase of guns to carry out murders, were done. Several members of the gang in their roles as “foot soldiers”, the court was told, were responsible for ensuring that murders ordered were executed and that extortion monies were collected.

Witness Number One, as part of his exploits, recorded telephone conversations amongst the gangsters as they plotted and discussed their endeavours.