Inmate testifies seeing accused cops the day Deane was beaten

WESTERN BUREAU:

A former inmate at the Barnett Street Police Station lock-up told the Westmoreland Circuit Court on Monday that he saw the three cops being tried for Mario Deane’s death, on duty at the facility, on the day Deane was beaten.

The witness, who is currently in custody for unspecified charges, made the revelation in the trial of Corporal Elaine Stewart and Constables Juliana Clevon and Marlon Grant.

Deane died three days after the August 3, 2014 beating while in custody for possession of a ganja spliff.

“I got up around 3:00 in the morning and did some exercise in the cell. Once they came and checked the muster, I stopped and I started to prepare myself to be let out to shower,” the witness told the court.

‘Muster’ is a term regarding checks of the number, names, and statuses of inmates in custody.

“Which officers did you see on August 3, 2014?” asked prosecutor Kimberly Williams.

“I saw Ms Stewart, ‘Short Man’, and ‘Indian’,” the witness answered.

Prior to that exchange, the witness had identified Stewart by name and physical appearance, but said that he only knew Grant and Clevon by the respective nicknames of ‘Short Man’ and ‘Indian’ and by their physical attributes. He also positively identified all three defendants in the prisoner’s dock, noting that he had seen them several times during his month in custody at the Barnett Street facility leading up to August 3, 2014.

“Unsound cell”

The witness also described the actions of fellow inmate Marvin Orr and two other men he identified as ‘Crocodile’ and ‘Reid’, who were housed in what he termed the “unsound cell”, in the weeks prior to Deane’s appearance at the lock-up.

“Crocodile was always making crocodile sounds, like a dog, but it was not barking. Marvin Orr did not talk much, he did not bathe, and I never really saw him talking to anybody; sometimes he would urinate in his hand and wipe his face, or if he defecated, he rubbed it on himself,” the witness recalled. “Reid was always crawling on the floor, and he did not seem to wear much clothes. Sometimes he would be in his underpants only, and sometimes he would not have on any clothes.”

Marvin Orr, Adrian Morgan, and Damion Cargill were previously charged before the St James Circuit Court with murder in relation to Deane’s death, but were subsequently deemed unfit to plea due to having mental issues.

The trial, which is taking place before High Court Justice Courtney Daye, will continue next Tuesday morning.

Stewart, Clevon, and Grant are charged with manslaughter and misconduct in a public office in relation to Deane’s death. Stewart is also charged with perverting the course of justice, in that she allegedly ordered for the cell where Deane was beaten to be cleaned before the arrival of investigators from the Independent Commission of Investigations.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com