Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter
Joel Andem, who was once on the police most wanted listed, being escorted by a cop before his appearance at the Gun Court in downtown Kingston on June 17, 2004. Andem was found guilty on the charges of shooting with intent and illegal possession of firearm and ammunition. He will be sentenced today. - RUDOLPH BROWN/CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
REPUTED GANG leader Joel Andem, who verbally abused a judge when he was convicted yesterday of gun-related charges, could face up to 30 years in jail when sentence is handed down today.
After Justice Patrick Brooks announced the guilty verdict in the Gun Court, a livid Andem pointed his finger at the judge and said: "You, you, mi know from the trial started you never have no intention of giving me a fair trial."
He said all the judge did was to speculate instead of going to the crime scene to see what had taken place.
Andem, who was on the police most wanted list for four years, was convicted of charges of shooting with intent and illegal possession of firearm and ammunition. He was captured in Clarksonville, St. Ann, in May last year.
The judge, after hearing a mitigation plea, said he needed time to consider the appropriate sentence for Andem.
The 42-year-old 'Gideon Warriors' gang leader had been on trial since last week Monday for shooting at a police party when they went to a house at Skyline Drive, Jacks Hill, St. Andrew, on January 27, 2002. The policemen said they knew Andem before the incident.
In his defence, Andem denied shooting at the police and called a witness to support his alibi that he was not at the house at Jacks Hill.
Andem and his witness were thoroughly cross-examined by Anthony Armstrong, acting Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions.
When Andem was asked if he had anything to say before sentence was passed on him, he said: "I am not guilty."
Attorney-at-law Janet Nosworthy, one of the three lawyers who represented Andem, made an impassioned plea for leniency. She asked the judge not to overlook the chance of rehabilitation for Andem, describing him as a spiritual person who occasionally read his Bible.
SIX PREVIOUS CONVICTIONS
Andem admitted in court that he had six previous convictions. The first conviction was in 1983 for schoolhouse breaking and larceny. He was given a suspended sentence for that offence.
He was convicted in 1990 on one count of shooting with intent, two counts of illegal possession of firearm and two counts of robbery with aggravation, and was sentenced to 10 and 12 years' imprisonment on some of the charges. The sentences were concurrent so Andem was ordered to served a 12-year prison term. He served nine years.
Andem's antecedent, which was read in court, stated that he was the father of two children, aged four and two, who were dependent on him.
He has other charges pending against him in the Gun Court. Andem and two other men are charged with the murder of 48-year-old gas station operator, Sylvia Edwards. She was kidnapped along Red Hills Road, St. Andrew, in July 2000. When the demand for a ransom of $200,000 was not met, she was shot dead and buried in a shallow grave at Constitution Hill, St. Andrew.
