C. Roy ReynoldsTHERE WAS little doubt that the US State Department would grant the request of the British Government for the extradition of Roubal and Diaz to Jamaica to stand trial for the double murder on South Camp Road in January 1935. The Puerto Rican court which heard the case presented by a Jamaican team had recommended it.
Still there were formalities to satisfy and it would be nearly two weeks after the men were apprehended by the Puerto Rican law enforcement that Washing-ton gave the go-ahead. But even as the Jamaican authorities were waiting on the word from Washington they had to be pursuing other initiatives to get the men here.
It was an age when air travel was still in its infancy and to get from Puerto Rico to Kingston would necessitate a stop in Haiti as well as Santo Domingo. Each country had a requirement that any prisoner entering their territories had the right to a three-week extradition hearing period.
Eventually through diplomatic negotiations the Jamaican authorities were successful in getting each country to waive the provisions and the way was thus paved for a speedy return of the men from Puerto Rico. But that was still not the end of the story as the Pan American airline by which they would travel called for a scheduled stop in Cuba, and that was another matter since both men claimed Cuban connections. The situation was resolved when Pan American agreed to provide a smaller plane to take the Jamaican party from Port-Au-Prince to Kingston. The party finally made its way to Kingston on March 30, 1935 to great excitement in the city. People on the watch from East Queen Street to Harbour Head watched every movement of the police and their vehicles as the men were transferred from plane to Black Maria to jail on Sutton Street. The Gleaner of Monday April 1, noted that they watched "as the gate swung together with a bang."
Identification parade
The first legal move was the retaining of solicitor Mr. W.E. Foster-Davis as counsel for the defendants. Next the men were placed on an identification parade. The identification parade was aided by members of a Cuban boxing camp who provided a number of men of similar appearance to the prisoners for the line-up.
On the afternoon of April 1 the prisoners were brought before Kingston Resident Magistrate for their first court appearance. They were ordered held for preliminary hearing on April 15-17.
When the hearing opened on April 15 The Gleaner reported that: "One of the largest crowds that has ever attended police court proceedings or for that matter proceedings in any court of justice in Jamaica, was present yesterday afternoon in the Sutton Street Court House, Kingston, to witness the start of the preliminary examination."
Hearing the case was RM Raymond Browne. Mr. A.B. Rennie, Crown Solicitor, represented the prosecution, while Mr. Foster-Davis appeared for the accused.
The first witness called was Ephraim Monges, a boxer who went by the name of El Toro Del Sur, a Mexican citizen. He testified to having bought a dagger at the Yankee Notion Store in King Street and later taking it with him to the barber shop where accused Roubal worked. As he was removing his jacket to go into the barber chair the dagger fell and accused asked what it was. He laid the dagger on a shelf near the barbering tools and forgot to take it when he left the shop. When he returned Roubal persuaded him to sell the dagger to him, which he did for five shillings. But witness was unable to positively identify the dagger in court as the same one he had sold to accused.
In a somewhat lengthy cross examination Defence Counsel asked about the witness' experience with daggers and about his visits to the Yankee Notions Store opposite Times Store on King Street. In reply to further questions witness said he had not sought to buy another dagger after he sold the one to Roubal as "there was no need for a dagger or a revolver in Jamaica as there was no revolution here."
The boxer was questioned at length about his experience with knife-throwing. He also revealed that this was not the first time he had sold a dagger, having sold one he had previously to the son of the Cuban Consul. Finally, he admitted that he could not identify the dagger as the one he had sold to Roubal.
The second witness was to be one Manuel Lopez Doriga who was described as a Spanish national residing at Emma Ville Avenue and an engineer by profession. He was to tell of being acquainted with the accused for some time and an encounter at his Harbour Street office shortly after the murders.
C.Roy Reynolds is a freelance journalist.
