More details — this time from a witness long dead — have emerged about the genesis of a plot, supposedly by members of the Tesha Miller faction of the Klansman Gang, to rob “millions” of dollars from a mail van which serviced the South Camp Road to Cross Roads route in the Corporate Area in September 2018.

The planned heist had, however, been thwarted by cops assigned to the then Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch (C-TOC) after they received intelligence about the attack which was to take place at the Cross Roads Post Office on September 26, 2018.

The statement of the dead man, who was one of four men arrested and questioned that day, was on Monday read into the records of the Supreme Court in downtown Kingston where 25 accused members of the gang, including alleged leader Miller, are on trial before Justice Dale Palmer.

A detective corporal, who had typed the statement which was given “voluntarily” by the man on October 2, 2018, said she was part of the operation which led to the would be robbers being taken into custody.

The deceased man, whom the Jamaica Observer will not name, had told the cop that he left Spanish Town in his early 20s after a run-in with police because he “nevah waan get killed”.

He said some time elapsed during which he earned a living as a higgler when the mastermind of the plot called him to share the “likkle programme” which, he said, he had been trying to “maths weh him a watch fi bout two years”.

According to the dead man’s statement, his crony told him that he didn’t want to “link his dawgs” about his plan to rob the targeted mail van, with inside help, of “couple million dollars” because “dem chat too much”.

He said after an entire day of scheming, he and another individual travelled from St Ann to pick up two men from Portmore (on Tuesday, September 25, 2018). From there, they met up with the supposed mastermind in downtown Kingston and headed to Cross Roads to “map out the post office”.

He said before dawn on Wednesday, September 26, 2018 he and his other henchman left St Ann shortly before 4:00 am and drove to “Braeton taxi stand” in Portmore, St Catherine where they again picked up the same two men.

He said the plan was to be at Cross Roads “when the mail van reach and do the robbery if it coulda work”.

“The programme was, after mi an (name redacted) map out the place, the Portmore man dem would run in an tie up who fi tie up and do di ting. If dem need help mi an (name redacted) woulda move in to,” the witness said in the statement.

That plan was, however, short-circuited after a police detective inspector, who was part of the covert team from C-TOC, recognised the same supposed mastermind who had been profiled by the police in relation to other robberies at the location.

“Mi an (name redacted) stand up at (fast food store in the vicinity) and (other henchman) parked an siddung inna fi him car a di taxi stand,” the witness said further in the statement. He said at that time the supposed mastermind told him that he had left the phone which had the contact number of the “security link” in the post office who would indicate “if di robbery can gwaan”.

“Shortly after that (alleged mastermind) tell mi seh him spot a police weh him know… inna a grey polo shirt. Him den tell mi seh di programme nah go work out dah day deh again so mek wi call it off. Mi start walk go up di road an (mastermind) go the other way and mi feel somebody hold on to mi an seh ‘Police, don’t move’,” the witness said.

That witness, along with three others, including the driver of the mail van, according to evidence unveiled in the trial so far, were taken to C-TOC headquarters where they were interviewed, profiled, and fingerprinted. Statements were also recorded from the men who were eventually released without being charged.

The dead man’s evidence goes to the Crown’s case on count 13 of the indictment which charges Miller with “knowingly giving instructions to a criminal organisation contrary to Section 7 (1) (b) of the Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organisations) Act” — commonly called the anti-gang law.

According to the Crown, Miller, “on a day unknown between September 1, 2018 and September 26, 2018 in the parish of Kingston, knowingly gave instruction to a criminal organisation in furtherance of its involvement in criminal activity to wit: the robbery at Cross Roads”.

The following count — count 14 of the said indictment — charges Miller and the accused Michael Wildman with “facilitating the commission of a serious offence by a criminal organisation”, contrary to Section 6 (1) (b) of the anti-gang Act.

On Tuesday, Wildman’s lawyer Michael Gentles, in cross-examining the detective corporal, questioned whether she had known that the mastermind referred to by the dead witness was, incidentally, one of the Crown’s star witnesses (yet to be revealed) who according to the attorney is a “self-professed accomplished criminal”. He further took the detective corporal to task for not charging “those who confessed “ to plotting to rob the post office while his “client”, who was “never there, was charged”.

While no details were given as to the cause of death of the witness, information contained in police blotters indicate that the man, who worked as a security guard at a school, was killed during a special police operation on December 22, 2023.

The matter resumes Wednesday at 10:00 am when Miller’s attorney, John Clarke, will continue cross-examination of the cop who is the Crown’s 14th witness to take the stand since the trial began on February 4.