Sun | Sep 24, 2023

Clansman Gang Trial | Driver attacked at bus park reported being extorted, policeman testifies

Published:Tuesday | January 25, 2022 | 12:38 PM
The trial is being heard in the Home Circuit Court.

A police sergeant this morning testified at the Clansman-One Don Gang trial that a bus driver who was attacked by gunmen at the Spanish Town bus park in St Catherine had reported to the police that he was being extorted. 

The bus driver was reportedly executed by the gang in February 2018.

The police witness said that he had been assigned to work at the bus park because of an ongoing problem with extortion.

He further testified that the victim, who was known to him as 'Tandibay', was the only bus driver who had made a formal report to the police about being extorted. 

"Numerous drivers made reports but never formal report to me," he said. 

The witness further testified that he had advised them to visit the police station to make a formal report but they had refused out of fear for their lives. 

As it relates to the murder of the bus driver, the witness said on February 6, 2018, he was at the bus park working when the driver drove in and completed loading his bus around 8:50 p.m. and then exited the facility.

The witness said he watched the bus drive away and after it went out of his sight, he heard loud explosions like gunshots.

He said he and his colleagues went to the gate of the bus park on Burke Road where they saw passengers exiting through windows and fighting to come through the door. 

The sergeant said he went inside the bus where he saw the driver in the front seat with blood on his shirt. 

According to him, he called out for assistance and the injured driver was placed in the front passenger seat and he drove him to the Spanish Town Hospital where he handed him over to medical personnel for treatment. 

He said the driver had tried to tell him something but he could not understand what he was saying. 

The witness said he then left and drove the bus to the Spanish Town Police Station and then returned to the murder scene. 

The reputed leader of the gang Andre Bryan and 32 other alleged gang members are being tried on an indictment with 25 counts under the Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organizations) Act and the Firearms Act. 

The One Don Gang is a breakaway faction of the Clansman Gang.

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