Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter 
Detective examines evidence at the house in Kraal, Clarendon. - FILE
DEFENCE LAWYERS began making submissions in law on Thursday when the Crown closed its case after calling 44 witnesses at the Kraal murder trial.
Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams and five other policemen are on trial for the murder of four civilians at Kraal on May 7, 2003. The policemen had gone to Kraal in search of Bashington Douglas otherwise called 'Chen Chen' and 'Shortman' who was wanted for various offences.
The legal submissions were made in the absence of the jury as Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe released the 12-member jury until Monday.
Submissions in law are made in the absence of the jury based on a ruling by the United Kingdom Privy Council which is Jamaica's final appellate court.
The trial which began on October 31 was put off on Monday until Wednesday to give the prosecution sufficient time to get vital witnesses it needed to testify before it closed its case.
ENSURE WITNESS PRESENCE
On Monday afternoon, the Chief Justice advised the prosecution that they ensured that the witnesses were available on Wednesday because he did not want to hear then that the
witnesses were on their way. East Kingston businessman Danhai Williams was one of the witnesses the prosecution was seeking to call.
On Monday, Constable Ian Gray tendered in evidence the firearm register of the now disbanded Crime Management Unit. He said that on May 9, 2003, SSP Adams and four of the other accused policemen handed over firearms which included M16 rifles. He said later that same day, their 'side arms' were returned
to them. Policemen from the Bureau of Special Investigations were present when the men handed over the weapons.
United Kingdom forensic engineer David Bristow said he was asked by the Metropolitan Police to come to Jamaica to provide his expertise in relation to certain events at Kraal. In coming to his opinion as to the locations at which three mobile phones were used on May 7, 2003, he said he used the technique called cell-site analysis. He said he received the call data record for the three cellular phones, information from Digicel and copies of the map of Jamaica. He used a power point presentation in court to demonstrate his data analysis which showed the cell cites in which the phones were used to make calls and at what time.
The Crown has led evidence at the trial that policemen who were in Spanish Town, St. Catherine, on the evening of May 7, 2003, went to east Kingston where they collected a firearm and took it to Kraal. The Crown is alleging that the gun was planted at the crime scene.
DANHAI NO-SHOW
Although the prosecution had all day Tuesday to locate its witnesses, Danhai Williams did not turn up in court on Wednesday. Prosecutor Terrence Williams said he was making an application under Section 31(D) (d) of the Evidence Act in regard to the witness who is number 36 on the back of the indictment. The section states that the statement of a person in a criminal proceeding can be admissible if it is proved to the satisfaction of the court that the person "cannot be found after all reasonable steps have been taken to find him." Williams was number 36 on the back of the indictment which sets out the charges against the accused.
Defence lawyers said they were opposing the application. Lengthy submissions were then made in the absence of the jury.
However, the Chief Justice refused the application to put into evidence the statement which Williams had given to the police.
When the jury was recalled into court, the prosecution said it would not be calling two witnesses from Cable and Wireless who had been attending court since last week to testify at the trial.
The defence was seeking on Wednesday to recall ballistics expert Daniel Wray to tender in evidence a bullet fragment found at Kraal which did not belong to any of the firearms he had tested. Defence lawyer Oswest Senior Smith said it could show that other guns were at the premises. The Chief Justice said that that was an argument to put to the
tribunal of fact (jury) and ask for the tribunal to draw an inference. The Chief Justice said he was not going to allow the application. Wray had testified last week that he had gone to Kraal on May 9, 2003, and on examining a front door with bullet holes, he was of the opinion that gunshots were fired from outside to inside and inside to outside.
The other policemen on trial are Corporals Patrick Coke and Shane Lyons and constables Devon Bernard, Roderick Collier and Leford Gordon.
They are charged with the
murder of 47-year-old Angella Richards, 39-year-old Lowena Thompson and Kirk Douglas and Matthew James, both 29 years old.
