Extortion claims crumble

The prosecution in the Clansman-One Don Gang trial conceded on Tuesday that it had no evidence to support claims made by its two main witnesses that the criminal entity had been extorting cabbies, bus drivers, and vendors in St Catherine.

The admission came after Chief Justice Bryan Sykes questioned whether the prosecution had secured any evidence to establish that the gang members had, in fact, carried out extortion.

The judge raised the issue after one of the prosecutors, in responding to the no-case submission for defendant Donovan Richards, sought to convince the court that he was one of the gang’s extortion collectors based on the testimony of the two ex-gangsters-turned-prosecution witnesses.

The prosecutor reiterated that it was evidence of the criminal organisation’s banker that the gang killed, maimed, and extorted people in Spanish Town.

That same witness, he recalled, had explained to the court how the extortion money was spent.

But the judge questioned whether the ex-gangster had seen Richards in the act.

The prosecutor responded that the witness had stated that he knew that Richards collected money from vendors, busmen, and taxi drivers in Spanish Town.

But the judge noted that the term ‘extortion’ was being used loosely and questioned whether the Crown had any witnesses who had observed the alleged gangsters collecting the money or a report from any of the victims.

“No one has come forward to say I am a taxi operator and I was coerced into paying extortion” the judge stated.

He further pointed out that the witness could only speak to his understanding of Richards’ role, but that there is no supporting evidence from a victim or independent witness to the act.

The prosecutor, while admitting that the Crown had no supporting evidence besides the witness’s general testimony about extortion, however stressed that the witness had emphasised that he was part of the scheme.

But the judge said the witness would need to speak to, at the very least, conduct in order to meet the statutory standards.

“At best, what we have is how the money comes into the coffers.

“This is the difference between intelligence gathering and evidence,” the judge added.

During the trial, the court had heard from the two former gangsters that One Don was heavily involved in extortion and that the money was used to fund the criminal group’s lifestyle and activities.

The court had also heard that businesses and construction sites were also extorted and that on one occasion, the gang had burned down a financial institution after the owner had refused to pay.

A voice that was attributed to the gang’s alleged second-in-command, defendant Jason ‘City Puss’ Brown, was heard in one of the secret recordings recalling how he had to “rough up” a businessman who had tried to “bawl down” the extortion fee.

In the same recording, he was also heard praising Chinese businesses for not resisting the gang’s demands for extortion, describing them as more loyal than Afro-Jamaicans.

In the meantime, the prosecution, on Day Two of his response to the defence’s no-case submission, maintained that the defendants each have a case to answer and that sufficient evidence has been presented to the court.

The prosecution argued that the defendants, based on their conduct and alleged participation in criminal activities such as murder and arson, were not operating of their own volition but were working in furtherance of the gang, of which they were alleged members.

The Crown is expected to wrap up its response to the no-case submissions made for 24 of the remaining 28 defendants today when the trial resumes in the Home Circuit Court.

Initially, 33 defendants were charged on a 25-count indictment under the Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organizations) Act and the Firearms Act. Five were released from custody after their cases were thrown out.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com