Four freed of quadruple murder, arson charges
Published:Friday | April 8, 2022 | 12:08 AM
Four alleged members of the feared Stinger Gang implicated in a gruesome quadruple murder were yesterday freed of murder and arson charges in the Gun Court.
Navada Lyons, Jermaine Myers, Dacion Pellington, and Gerald Robinson were also freed of illegal possession and ammunition charges after they were found not guilty of the charges by Justice Leighton Pusey during a judge-alone trial.
The men were fingered in a deadly shooting incident on May 24, 2010, in Whitfield Avenue in St Andrew, in which Wesley Knowles, alias ‘Breda’; Marlon Tait, alias ‘Bigs’; Romeo Hamilton, also known as ‘Shadow’; and Rayon Brown – all of Whitfield Town addresses – were killed.
The Crown led evidence that about 12:45 a.m. on the day of the incident, the four men went to the community and entered a premises and shot and killed the victims before fire-bombing their house and fleeing.
All four victims were burnt beyond recognition.
During the trial, the Crown called two eyewitnesses – another alleged gang member, who reportedly drove the men to the scene, and a resident, who was said to be home during the attack.
However, during cross-examination by the defence, the alleged gangster-turned-witness could not recall vital aspects of the incidents as several inconsistencies between his evidence and statement were highlighted.
The resident, during her cross-examination, conceded that she could not identify the defendants as the attackers, who were wearing masks on the night.
The defence called one witness, who testified that the female resident was not present during the attack as she was with him at his home.
Consequently, the judge, in making his ruling, indicated that he found the witnesses to be unreliable, and further, that the Crown had not proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Attorneys-at-law Peter Champagnie, QC, and Jacqueline Asher represented Robinson. Kemar Robinson represented Lyons, while Robert Armstrong appeared for Myers.
Attorneys-at-law Patrick Peterkin and Gnoj McDonald both represented Pellington.
EMBRACE BENCH TRIALS
In the meanwhile, Champagnie is encouraging his colleagues to embrace bench trials.
“While there is a great degree of reticence on the part of many to resist a bench trial, this is an example that would suggest that there are no reasons why there should be resistance to a bench trial. It is thought that judge-alone trials result in a particular direction, and this is clearly not the case,” he said.
Champagnie further added that bench trials, like jury trials, will have instances when there are acquittals and convictions.
“It really doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, it depends on the particular case, and, of course, your client’s instructions,” he added.
Peterkin, for his part, underscored the length of time that the men, including his client, spent in custody, noting that it was the better part of a decade. He said it was unfair to have persons in custody for such a long time awaiting trial.
While noting that he was aware that the court system is moving towards hearing date certainty and trial readiness, he said: “We are hoping that we can reach a stage where persons doesn’t have to wait so long for their trials.”