‘I am not a drunkard,’ witness tells lawyer in Klans trial

A police sergeant who was the first responder at the scene where the body of Thompson Pen resident Zamari McKay was found with his feet bound on August 11, 2022, in “a rubbish heap”, on Monday, described how he fiercely guarded the site to prevent contamination while awaiting the arrival of scene of crime personnel.

The cop, who was then a corporal, is the latest witness to testify in the trial of 25 alleged members of the so-called Tesha Miller faction of the Klansman Gang now underway in the Home Circuit Division of the Supreme Court in downtown Kingston.

He is also the first prosecution witness to give evidence in relation to Counts 28 and 29 of the indictment, which charges the accused Carlos Williams, Jermaine Clarke and Owen Billings with knowingly facilitating what the Crown says was the robbery and murder of Mackay.

The cop said he had been conducting patrol duty along Mandela Highway in the Corporate Area alongside a constable about 6:41 am when he received a phone call that led him to the Lakes Pen main road, where, after stopping in the vicinity of a recycling plant, he saw a body lying on the left side of the road.

“It was a male body, the feet of the person was tied with a white merino, he had on a light blue jeans pants, green underpants and a blue cloth over his head,” the cop recounted, adding that he also saw four spent casings beside the body, which had “blood marks on the back”.

The lawman, who said he called his supervisor at the time, told the court that he remained on the scene until a unit from the Greater Portmore Criminal Investigation Branch arrived.

During that time, he said he used the service vehicle, which he had been driving, “to block off the body from onlookers” before adjusting the road to single-lane traffic to create further distance.

He said when other cops arrived he continued to do traffic management while a corporal who was among the officers took over the scene.

Under cross-examination by attorney John Jacobs, who represents Clarke, the sergeant told the court that he had given one statement in the matter.

“The first statement I gave was in May 2023,” the lawman said.

“You gave two statements in this matter,” Jacobs stated.

“One statement,” the sergeant said patiently before going on to say, “The statement I gave is a first responder statement on what took place on the 11th of August. That is where that statement is coming from.”

Asked “when did you give that statement?” he said, “First statement I gave was May 2023.” When the attorney asked, “And is that the only statement you gave?” the cop, seemingly at the end of his tether, declared, “Dat a di only statement mi eva write inna mi lifetime,” causing chuckles to erupt in the solemn courtroom.

“So, considering that you only gave one statement, you did not sign a statement dated January 15, 2026?” Jacobs persisted.

Said the cop tetchily, “Mi sign a statement January 2026, a di same ting mi write inna May. I gave the police the statement on May 2023 and dem come back and tell mi seh dem caan find fi mi statement…mi write back di same ting so mi a tell yuh plain and straight.”

The response evoked even more laughter.

“So when they asked you to write the other statement, you consider it a second statement?” Jacobs asked.

“No Sir, same ting,” the cop snapped.

“When you write the other statement you write it from memory?” Jacobs wanted to know.

“Sir Jacobs, mi have the statement inna mi phone so mi jus’ tell di people dem inna di general office to copy it back, so mi nuh write nutten from no memory,” the cop answered, adding that he had read the statement over before signing it.

Sometime later, when asked whether he had “disturbed any of the spent casings” he saw on the scene, the cop, in a no-nonsense tone, replied, “No, Mr Jacobs, no.”

Asked if he had remained at the scene until it was processed, he said firmly, “No. As I stated earlier, once (name withheld) came, I did little traffic management and den mi go bout mi business,” drawing even more laughter.

Asked if he had touched the body, the cop said, “Sir Jacobs, yuh ask mi already…” but was prevented from repeating himself by the attorney’s “apology”.

Asked if anyone had removed any of the spent casings, he said, “Whilst I was there, nobody removed nothing at all.”

The lively witness, under further cross-examination from attorney Petreta Gabbidon, had individuals hanging on to his every word with his spitfire responses.

When asked by Gabbidon what he did to protect the scene, he said, “As I stated before, I parked the service vehicle in line with the body, because you all know that onlookers, once they see a body, they are going to trample all over the scene, so that is what I did. I also stated that I turned the roadway into one-way traffic… I stated all of that.”

Asked if he considered that adequate, he said dryly, “Yes, madame, because the body wasn’t in di road.”

By the time Gabbidon asked, “You said on the 11th you spoke with (name withheld) while you were on the scene and (he) came on the scene,” the cop, his patience expired, scolded: “Miss Gabbidon, you weren’t listening, Miss Gabbidon. Mr (name withheld) and I commenced highway patrol duty, the question was asked before where (was he) sitting in my vehicle.”

When it was suggested to him by Gabbidon that he was not at work on the day in question, the cop, in a tone that brooked no argument, declared: “I am not a drunkard, you know, I am not sick, I was at work, even when mi sick mi still come work, I am that type of person.”

Asked by Gabbidon, “Were you sick that day?” the cop replied, “No, I was in good, healthy condition with my eyes open wide,” to prolonged chuckles.

The trial resumes on Tuesday at 10:00 am with further evidence on that count to be elicited from a new witness.