‘Hostile witness’ in gas station murder trial gets new court date

Christopher Thomas, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

Kirk Morris, who was arrested and charged with obstructing justice in a recent murder case, had his bail extended when he appeared in the St James Parish Court Wednesday to answer the charge against him.

Morris was arrested and charged after he was deemed a hostile witness in the recent murder case against brothers O’Neil and O’Brian Walters, who were set free after the judge instructed the jury to find them not guilty because the evidence against them was determined to be inconclusive.

During the trial, the prosecution, whose case was heavily dependent on a statement Morris had given, declared him a ‘hostile witness’, after he gave contradictory testimony at the trial. The prosecution also recommended that Morris be charged with obstruction of justice.

When Morris appeared in court yesterday, the prosecution told presiding magistrate Sandria Wong-Small that they had not yet reviewed the file because it was only submitted to the clerk’s office that morning.

“Is this a matter that was in the circuit court?” Wong-Small asked Morris’ attorney, Martyn Thomas.

 “Yes, Your Honour, and, on my perusal of the file, the transcripts [from the trial] are still outstanding,” explained Thomas.

 “So why is it that you have read the file, but the clerk has not yet received the file?” a seemingly annoyed Wong-Small asked.

“It seems there was a breakdown in communication,” the clerk of the court interjected.

The case was subsequently set for mention on December 6, with full disclosure of documents to be completed by November 8. Morris was also ordered to surrender his fingerprints to the police. His bail was extended to the new court date.

Morris was a crown witness in the case against the Walters brothers, who were on trial in the St James Circuit Court for the September 22, 2016 murder of Kahni Erskine during a daring daylight shooting at a gas station in Glendevon, St James. The shooting was captured on a surveillance camera. 

During the trial, Morris denied giving the police statements which implicated the brothers in the murder. It was while contradicting his alleged statement to the police that he was declared a hostile witness by prosecutor Maxine Jackson, who made the application to the trial judge, High Court Justice Sharon George, that he be charged with obstructing justice.

Justice George subsequently ordered the seven-member jury to return a not-guilty verdict for the Walters brothers, due to Morris’ testimony and the poor quality of the video captured by the surveillance camera.

We want to hear from you! Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169, email us at editors@gleanerjm.com or onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com.