Forensic officer says accused cop escorted him to cell block

WESTERN BUREAU:

Detective Constable Rickardo Evans of the Area One Scene-of-Crime Unit testified yesterday in the Westmoreland Circuit Court that he was escorted to the cell where Mario Deane was fatally beaten in 2014 by one of the officers now charged in connection with Deane’s death.

Evans, the seventh witness in the trial, appeared before High Court Justice Courtney Daye and gave evidence against Corporal Elaine Stewart, Constable Juliana Clevon, and District Constable Marlon Grant. He is the third police officer to testify in the ongoing case.

In his evidence-in-chief, Evans said he received a request on August 3, 2014 to process a scene at the Barnett Street Police Station lock-up in Montego Bay, St James. That same day, Deane, who had been in custody for possession of a ganja spliff, was reportedly beaten while in police custody.

Deane, a 31-year-old construction worker from Rosemount, St James, died on August 6, Independence Day, three days after the beating.

“I received a request for a forensic crime scene investigator at the Barnett Street Police Station. I arrived there at about 1:30 p.m. … I requested to see the location of the scene and I was escorted to the cell-block area at the Barnett Street Police Station,” Evans testified.

“Who escorted you?” asked prosecutor Kimberly Williams.

“District Constable Grant,” Evans responded, identifying the accused officer in the dock.

Evans told the court that, although he had previously visited the Barnett Street Police Station, he had not met Grant before August 3, 2014. Their interaction that day was brief and limited to Grant escorting him to the cell block.

During the proceedings, Justice Daye overruled an objection by defence attorney Martyn Thomas, who had questioned the relevance of the prosecution’s line of inquiry regarding the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s policy on the treatment of prisoners. Thomas argued that Evans’ knowledge of the policy, stemming from his time at the Negril Police Station in 2009, was not relevant.

Justice Daye ruled otherwise, stating, “The question of the policy and procedure regarding cell duty is relevant in this trial because it concerns the deceased [Deane], who was in lock-up at the time. The witness is giving evidence up to 2009, and there is no antecedent evidence that there is a different policy, and to that extent it is relevant.”

TRIAL TO CONTINUE ON APRIL 8

The court had previously heard that the most recent review of the policy governing prisoner care and safety occurred in 2017, with the prior review dating back to 2009.

The trial was adjourned and is set to continue on April 8, when Evans will resume his evidence-in-chief.

Before Evans took the stand, cross-examination of Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) forensic examiner Peter Parkinson concluded. Parkinson said he could not confirm whether a toxicology report had been conducted in Deane’s case. He also stated that he did not conduct a presumptive or on-spot analysis of the blood found in the cell, as it was visibly identifiable and would be confirmed by DNA analysis at the forensic lab.

Stewart, Clevon, and Grant are charged with manslaughter and misconduct in public office. Stewart also faces an additional charge of perverting the course of justice, as she is accused of ordering the cleaning of the cell prior to the arrival of INDECOM investigators.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com