Clansman-One Don Gang sentencing postponed due to unavailability of judge

The highly-anticipated July 3 sentencing of the Clansman-One Don Gang leader Andre 'Blackman' Bryan and 14 other gang members has been postponed to September in the Home Circuit Court.

Kadeish Fletcher, Director of Client Services, Communication and Information at the Court Administration Division confirmed that the matter was pushed back to the Michelmas Term, but that a date has not yet been agreed upon by the lawyers and the prosecutors in the case.

The postponement is due to the unavailability of Chief Justice, Bryan Sykes, who is currently involved in ongoing matters in the Trelawny Circuit.

Bryan was found guilty of being a leader of a criminal organization while the other gangsters including, Stephanie 'Muma' Cole-Christie, a so-called pastor from St Thomas, were found guilty of being a member of the St Catherine-based gang.

Some of the gangsters were also found guilty of facilitating the commission of murder and arson while Roel Taylor was found guilty of possession of firearm and ammunition.

The other offenders are former Jamaica Defence Force member Jermaine Robinson, Bryan's cousins, Tomrick Taylor, Roel Taylor, Dylon McLean, Jahzeel Blake, Michael Whitely, Lamar Simpson, Tareek James, Fabian Johnson, Joseph McDermott, Andre Golding, Bryan Morris, and Ted Prince.

Thirty-three defendants were initially hauled before the court, 17 were freed and one was killed.

Of the 17 who were freed, five of them were previously conceded by the prosecution following the no-case submission by the defence.

But for those who made it to the end, some were found not guilty because the evidence was insufficient while others escaped conviction after the counts on which they were charged failed.

The charge for leadership of a criminal organisation attracts a maximum sentence of 30 years while membership and facilitating both have a maximum of 20 years.

The judge also has the power under the anti-gang legislation to order at least two consecutive sentences.

Meanwhile, among those freed was Jason 'City Puss' Brown, who the court heard was the deputy leader, and based on the recorded conversation attributed to him, was a strong supporter of Bryan and a loyalist.

Brown was heard in the recording tracing the gang's history from the infamous leader Donovan 'Bulbie' Bennett to his alleged successor, Tesha Miller, down to Bryan.

In that recording, he was also heard bragging about how he had killed the father of one of the now-freed defendants and how he had also ordered an attack on a police station.

However, although Brown was said to be a member of the gang, none of the two witnesses had seen him.

As such, he was identified by an inspector, who had heard his voice on a recording and went undercover to speak to him while he was in custody.

- Tanesha Mundle

Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.