WESTMORELAND, Jamaica — The three cops charged in the fatal beating of 31-year-old construction worker Mario Deane while in police custody in 2014 were found guilty in the Westmoreland Circuit Court a short while ago.

The seven-member jury returned the six to one verdict on each count after deliberating on the facts presented in the case for a little more than two hours.

Before the case was handed over to the jury, presiding Supreme Court Judge Justice Courtney Daye instructed them to address each count separately for each accused — count three, manslaughter by gross negligence; count two, misconduct in a public office and count one, doing acts intended to pervert the course of justice.

On Thursday, the jury returned guilty for all three on count three and two. They also found Stewart guilty on count one.

The jury was also told to weigh the unsworn statements presented by all three accused during the trial and decide if they were satisfied with them.

In the statements, the cops rejected the testimony of the Crown’s star witnesses who had testified during the trial.

The witness in question was an inmate at the Barnett Street Police Station lockup in 2014, who gave a chilling account of Dean’s beating and the reaction of the cops when they were told what happened to Deane. He also stated that Deane was physically abused by Grant.

Justice Daye told the jury that there were inconsistencies in the evidence provided by the witness. He said the jury would have to decide if he gave a satisfactory explanation for the discrepancies.

“You will have to decide if you throw out everything that he said,” stated Justice Daye, who also instructed the jury on how to address the matter if this is done.

The three accused are Corporal Elaine Stewart and District Constables Marlon Grant and Juliana Clevon, all of whom are charged with manslaughter and misconduct in a public office.

The allegations in the case are that Deane was arrested for possession of a ganja spliff and placed in custody, where he was brutally beaten on August 3, 2014. He sustained severe injuries to his brain, which left him in a coma. He died three days later at Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James.

It is alleged that the three cops were on duty at the police station when Deane was beaten. It is further alleged that Stewart, who has an additional charge of perverting the course of justice, instructed that the cell in which the attack took place be cleaned before the arrival of investigators from the Independent Commission of Investigations.

Testimonies were heard in the case over 29 days and summation by the Crown, defence lawyers, and Justice over seven days. On the other hand, the case which started on March 3 experienced several days of interruption and adjournment as a result of varying reasons.

— Anthony Lewis