Three alleged members of the Ronko Gang who have been behind bars since 2023 were on Thursday released on bail even as their alleged leader Constable Tafari Silvera remains in custody pending a further bail hearing in July.

David Henry, Constable Tehneil Francis, and Tevin Henriques were ordered released by Supreme Court judge Justice Leighton Pusey after successful bail applications by their attorneys.

The three now join their co-accused, Jasette Brown, Constable Daneilio Barnes, Ovilgo McKenzie, and Constable Rajay Morrison who have been on bail but under strict conditions, which include curfew orders. They were also ordered to surrender their travel documents while stop orders have been ordered placed at the island’s ports.

Attorneys for the accused contended that, while the allegations were serious, the men could not be held in perpetuity with no clear indications from the Crown as to when it would be ready for the trial to proceed.

The eight alleged gang members comprising the four constables and four civilians are represented by attorneys Denise Hinson, Tamika Harris, Andria Whyte Walters, Donahue Martin, and Richard Lynch.

The bail applications came following indications by the prosecution, last month, that its case files were still incomplete. Defence attorneys then prevailed on the judge to offer bail to the four accused now in custody, arguing that it was “unfair” for them to be kept behind bars simply because the Crown’s files were not ready. The defence also noted that two trial dates had already been vacated for the accused who have been before the courts since 2022.

A September 16, 2025 trial date was vacated in July last year partly due to the absence of several defence attorneys and indications from others that they would not be ready, at which point Justice Pusey made it clear that the extended time for the start of the trial in April this year was to accommodate attorneys being ready to take the matter to conclusion.

The trial should have started on April 13, 2026 and was expected to run until June 15, 2026. However, after a January 2026 trial readiness hearing was adjourned to February, the trial date was again vacated and the matter moved to case management in April before Justice Pusey.

On April 30, when the case came up for mention, the court was told that no counsel from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions was specifically assigned. Justice Pusey, at that time, gave the prosecution until Thursday, May 14 to produce a time frame for the trial and the witness list. On that occasion it became clear that a trial date still could not be set, hence the bail hearings.

The seven men and one woman are jointly charged with breaches of the Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organisation) Act — commonly referred to as the anti-gang law.

The Ronko Gang, which is believed to include several cops, has been linked to 17 incidents ranging from shootings, burglary, robbery with aggravation, illegal possession of firearm, shop breaking, conspiracy to murder, and abduction.

The offences allegedly spanned Clarendon, Manchester, St Elizabeth, St Catherine, St Mary, Trelawny, Kingston, St Andrew, and St James between 2019 and 2021.