Witness tells court ‘Zugi’ was chased, shot on Roger Avenue
Published:Friday | February 20, 2026 | 12:08 AMTanesha Mundle/Staff Reporter
A man yesterday gave chilling testimony in the Home Circuit Court about how George ‘Zugi’ Richards was chased down and shot repeatedly as he lay face down on Roger Avenue in Spanish Town, St Catherine, in September 2017.
The witness, who said he had known Richards “from him small”, was testifying in the Clansman Gang trial involving reputed leader Tesha Miller and 24 other men.
He told the court that about 9:30 p.m., he was near Roger Avenue and Fairview Boulevard when he heard what sounded like explosions coming from a bar at the intersection.
“I saw a lot of men running,” he said. “Some running up towards Fairview Boulevard, some running down Roger Avenue.”
Several men turned into a nearby lane about 50 yards from where he stood. Among them was Richards, he said.
“I saw Zugi. He was running and limping,” the mason testified, explaining that he recognised him by his upper body structure and distinctive gait.
Moments later, Richards fell face down near a shop wall. A gunman ran up behind him, stood over him and opened fire.
“The guy went over him and just keep firing. Fire, fire, fire,” he said.
He recalled the shooter’s arm extended, firing at Richards’ upper body.
He noted that there were two attackers; during the assault, the other man chased people along the boulevard.
The witness said he did not see the attackers’ faces clearly and would not be able to identify them.
After the shooting, the assailants fled up Roger Avenue towards the boulevard and disappeared into a lane.
He said he immediately called 119 before cautiously approaching the scene. Residents had gathered and were trying to revive Richards.
“A lot of blood was running out of him,” he said.
Richards was placed in a car and taken to hospital. The witness said he never saw him alive again.
Earlier, a female witness became visibly emotional as she recounted her final interactions with Richards.
Fighting back tears, she said that on the day of the incident she was at a restaurant on Fairview Boulevard with a chef and Richards, who was cooking soup.
Some time after 8 p.m., Richards was selling soup when he received a call to make a delivery along Roger Avenue and left shortly after.
About 20 minutes later, someone alerted her. She ran to the front of the shop but rushed back inside after hearing what sounded like gunshots.
She later spoke to her daughter and was told Richards was being taken to hospital.
That night she went near the crime scene and saw his slippers on the ground as she wiped away tears.
On October 11, 2017, she identified his body during a post-mortem examination.
Defendants Dwayne Frater and Lamer Rowe are charged with facilitating the commission of a serious offence by a criminal organisation in relation to murder.
Under cross-examination, attorney Kemar Robinson, representing Frater, established that the mason gave a police statement more than eight years ago and recently reviewed it for trial.
Asked if he described the attackers, the witness agreed he told police they wore light-coloured clothing – “white, grey, cream, something like that” – but acknowledged night lighting could affect colours.
He said they were of average build, “about five feet, four inches – about that height”. Robinson suggested they were slim, had no facial hair and that one looked “like an Indian”; the witness agreed those descriptions matched.
When asked if he could identify them again, he initially said, “If I see them again, I would walk past them and not know them.”
After further questioning, he acknowledged he had previously said he “may be able” to identify them and maintained he was truthful based on what he saw. He confirmed he never attended an identification parade.
The killing forms part of the Crown’s case alleging the accused were members of the feared Clansman Gang and involved in 16 criminal incidents across St Catherine, St Andrew, St Mary and Clarendon between August 2017 and November 2022. The 32-count indictment includes murder, conspiracy to murder, robbery with aggravation, shooting with intent, wounding with intent, and participation in a criminal organisation.
The trial continues today.