CHIEF Justice Bryan Sykes has indicated that “the end is in sight” for the mother of all trials involving 28 alleged members of the feared St Catherine-based Klansman Gang which began in 2021.

“I have now come around to making the turn for home; we are on the final stretch,” the chief justice, who has been trying the matter without a jury, announced at the adjournment on Tuesday afternoon.

Judged to be the longest-running matter of its kind with the largest number of defendants in any single matter in Jamaica and the Caribbean, the trial began with 33 defendants in September of 2021. Five were subsequently freed due to insufficient evidence against them, while another who was out on bail was shot and killed.

The judge-alone matter, which has engaged two Supreme Court rooms, has seen explosive testimonies from several individuals, chief among them two alleged former gang members turned Crown witnesses and a police investigator who infiltrated the ranks of the outfit posing as an ‘uncle’.

The chief justice, who is in the fourth week of his summation which has seen him sifting through the evidence presented by the Crown, on Tuesday assessed the identification parade evidence for 11 of the defendants, noting that they appeared to have been properly conducted and had not been disputed by the accused in question.

The 28 remaining accused are being tried under the Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organisations) (Amendment) Act, commonly called the anti-gang legislation, with several facing additional charges under the Firearms Act for crimes allegedly committed between 2015 and 2019. The offences for which they have been indicted, include being part of a criminal organisation, murder, conspiracy to murder, arson and illegal possession of firearm and illegal possession of ammunition. Accused gang boss Andre “Blackman” Bryan is charged with, among other things, being the leader of a criminal organisation.

Others answering to the charges are Bryan’s brother Kevaughn Green (supposedly second in command), Tomrick Taylor, Kalifa Williams, Daniel McKenzie, Michael Whitely, Pete Miller, Dylon MClean, Dwight Hall, Carl Beech, Lamar Simpson, Donavon Richards, Tareek James, Stephanie Christie, Fabian Johnson, Jahzeel Blake, Roel Taylor, Kemar Harrison, Joseph McDermott, Jermaine Robinson, Jason Brown, Andre Golding, Marco Miller, Chevroy Evans, Brian Morris, Andre Smith, Ricardo Thomas, and Ted Prince.

The Crown is alleging that the accused, between 2015 and 2019, carried out a range of murders, conspiracies to murder and extortion and arson throughout St Catherine.

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 took place.

The matter will continue at 10:00 at the Supreme Court in downtown Kingston on Thursday morning.