Men accused of shooting policeman in 2023 Central Village attack freed

Three men accused of shooting and injuring a policeman in Central Village, St Catherine in 2023 have been freed of gun charges in the Gun Court.

Kevin Morgan, Denardo James, and Andrew Reid, all of Central Village addresses, were acquitted of charges of possession of prohibited weapon, unauthorized possession of ammunition and wounding with intent last Thursday by Justice Tricia Hutchinson-Shelley.

The prosecution led evidence during the trial that about 11:00 p.m. on October 7, the lawman went to Central Village on personal business when he was attacked by the accused men who allegedly fired several shots hitting him in the back.

The policeman was rescued and taken to the Spanish Town Hospital by his colleagues from the Central Village Police Station.

However, the judge found that the identification of the defendants and prior sighting were woefully inadequate and, as a result, failed to meet the requisite legal standard to convict the men.

The defence team, which comprised of attorneys Lancelot Clarke, Shadae Bailey and Steven Jackson, during cross-examination, had grilled the complainant about the incident while suggesting that he would not have been in a position to properly identify the men during a sustained and intense gunfire.

-Tanesha Mundle

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