Case against cop charged with murder of Ribbiz employee transferred, bail denied

The case against the off-duty policeman charged with murdering a Ribbiz Ultra Lounge employee was on Tuesday moved to the Home Circuit Court, where he was denied bail and ordered to avoid all contact with persons from the establishment.

Constable Patrick Williams, 39, attached to the Denham Town Police Station, faces charges in connection with the January 23 killing of Jermaine Richards, 40, of Fleet Street, Kingston.

Richards was shot and killed in the parking lot of the Ardenne Emirates Plaza in St Andrew.

The case, which was transferred from the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Tuesday via nolle prosequi, is scheduled for mention on November 24.

Justice Leighton Pusey heard an application for bail and denied it.

The hearing was held in camera, given that the matter is a gun-related offence.

Earlier this year, Williams was granted $1 million bail in the Gun Court section of the Parish Court, on conditions that included reporting twice weekly to the police station and surrendering his travel documents.

However, those conditions have since been revoked.

The charges followed an investigation by the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), after the victim’s friends and family staged protests calling for justice.

Williams is represented by attorneys D’Ondre Buchanan and John Jacobs.

- Tanesha Mundle

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