THE COURT of Appeal has reserved judgment in the case of Desmond 'Desi' Brown, a 38-year-old Jamaican of 58 Oliver Road, Kingston 2 who is wanted in the United States to face charges of murder and narcotics trafficking.
Brown is asking the court to set aside an order of the Full Court, that it was oppressive and unjust to extradite him for offences which were allegedly committed more than 14 years ago.
He said he had been living an open life since he returned to Jamaica in 1990. He is wanted in the Eastern District of New York.
He was held by the police at a football match at the National Stadium in September 1997. Resident Magistrate Martin Gayle in 1998 ordered that he should be extradited to face the charges.
After the extradition order was made, an application was made in the Supreme Court for Brown to be released from prison but the Full Court turned down his application. He is appealing against that order.
TRIAL FOR 20-COUNT INDICTMENT
Brown is wanted to stand trial on a 28-count indictment which includes the murder of Fitzerald 'Fitz' Reid who was gunned down as he left a night club in New York in May 1990.
The US authorities claim that from 1979 to 1990, Brown was a member of the 'Gullyman Posse', which operated in Brooklyn, New York.
When the hearing began last week, Brown, through his lawyer Patrick Atkinson, applied to amend the grounds of his appeal to refute the claim that he was a fugitive from justice.
He said he was serving probation for drug offences in the US and when his probation ended he came to Jamaica in December 1990. He said when he left the island he was not aware that there were any charges against him, and so could not be described as a fugitive.
The court upheld submissions by attorneys-at-law Jenice Nelson-Brown who represented the Director of Public Prosecutions and attorney-at-law Annaliesa Lindsay from the Attorney-General's Department that the amendment should not be granted because Brown was aware of the allegation when he made his application in the Supreme Court.
Brown, who is now in custody at the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre (General Penitentiary), is also contending that he did not disguise his identity while living in Jamaica. He said since his arrival he has been employed to the Kingston Industrial Construction as a liaison officer, employing persons to work on various building sites. He said he was employed to the company at the time he was arrested in 1997.
