Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter

Joel Andem, the reputed 44-year-old gang leader who was on the Police Most Wanted List until he was captured in May 2004, has lost his appeal against his conviction and 20-year prison sentence.

Justice Patrick Brooks convicted Andem in November 2005 of charges of illegal possession of firearm and shooting with intent.

Evidence was given at the trial that about 8:00 a.m. on January 27, 2002, Andem fired at a police party at a premises on Skyline Drive, St. Andrew and escaped over a precipice.

The central issue in the case was that of visual identification. The Court of Appeal comprising Mr. Justice Paul Harrison, Mr. Justice Howard Cooke and Mrs. Justice Zaila McCalla held that there was no challenge that Mr. Justice Brooks scrutiny of the identification evidence did not manifest the proper judicial attention.

Unfair and adverse comments

Andem appealed on the grounds that the judge should have disqualified himself from trying the case because of unfair and adverse comments he made at the trial of his common-law wife Tameka Lindsay in November 2002. Lindsay was convicted of illegal possession of ammunition and the judge had asked after the antecedent report was read if the common law husband was the "notorious Andem being bandied about in public media."

In the judgment written by Justice Cooke, the court unanimously held that the circumstances demonstrated that the judge like almost everyone in Jamaica was aware that Andem had a notorious reputation.

The court held that there must be some behaviour by the judge whether by acts or words or otherwise indicated that he would be motivated to unfairly disfavour the notorious accused. The court found that the judge displayed no such behaviour at Andem's trial.