Witness says he tricked gang leader about being arrested

A former member of the One Don Gang yesterday revealed how he had tricked reputed leader Andre 'Blackman' Bryan and his foot soldiers into believing that he had been arrested during a state of emergency in St James.

"I told Blackman that I sell the firearm to pay for my lawyer fees," the witness said in the Home Circuit Court where he is giving evidence via video link. The witness, who had been working with the police to nail the gang, said the story about him being arrested was part of the cover that he had used to stave off questions from the gang about an illegal gun that was one of two that he gave to the police.

Pertaining to the newly bought handgun, the former community don said he had managed to convince Bryan and another member that he had hidden it in a roof in his bedroom at his uncle's home in Kingston. In relation to the other gun, a rifle, which was in need of repair, he said he had collected it under the guise that he was going to give it to the gang's gun repairman, defendant Dwayne Salmon, otherwise called 'Chemist'. The witness had testified that Bryan had sent him to collect the money from a gang member in Denham Town in Kingston to buy the gun. But after collecting the money, he contacted the policeman who he had been working with and they both travelled to Jones Town, where he turned over the money and collected the weapon. According to the witness, he introduced the policeman as his uncle and two of the alleged gang members had asked the undercover cop to keep him safe. The witness further testified that he had sold Bryan a story that he had someone he wanted killed and borrowed the gun.

He said Bryan had been complaining about wanting more rifles in the gang's arsenal so he volunteered to carry it to Salmon and when they retrieved it from the gutters, he turned it over to the police along with some ammunition.

But yesterday Chief Justice Bryan Sykes, who questioned the witness about his role and duties in the gangs, asked him to explain what happened after he turned over the weapons to the police and how the gang members reacted.

The witness said that although he had received calls from the members about the whereabouts of the guns, the guns were not their priority at the moment, as they were more concerned about his safety. He also said that at that time, the police were gunning after the gang members to have them arrested. The witness' cross-examination will continue today.