Resident testifies in St Lucy murder trial

A total of 23 state witnesses are scheduled to testify in a murder trial in which Jamaal Kamal Husbands of Husbands, St Lucy is accused of taking the life of former Broomfield resident Wayne Albert who was gunned down on April 24, 2015 while at Husbands Drive in the same parish.

The case, which started last week, heard today from state witness Natori Bob, a resident of the area.

Bob told Madame Justice Jacqueline Cornelius that he was awoken by a number of loud explosions while at his house on the evening of the shooting. He testified that he looked through his window from upstairs and saw “an individual” going towards the main road at a moderate speed.

He said the person was wearing a “reddish” shirt and was of a slim build.

However, under cross examination by defence counsel Safiya Moore, who is appearing in association with Kyle Walkes, Bob admitted that he could not clearly identify the person because outside was “getting dark” at the time.

As the cross examination continued, the witness said he only saw the person for “a fleeting moment”.

“I could not see if the person was holding anything in their hand,” he went on to tell the court under questioning by the attorney for the accused.

After being shown a photograph of a strip of road taken by police on the day in question, Bob pointed out the part of the street where he saw the person.

He said he saw a man on Husbands Drive close to the end of the same road.

Bob also told the court that when he first looked through his window he heard his grandmother’s voice prompting him to go downstairs.

He said when he got downstairs he peered through the window panel of his door and saw his grandmother and little brother standing outside of her house located within walking distance.

In his evidence, the witness told the High Court that he soon afterwards called out to his grandmother and when she came to him she seemed scared and erratic. He said he spoke to her, but she did not say anything.

Asked by the defence counsel if he had seen his uncle when he looked out his window on the day of the shooting, Bob replied “no”.

When Principal Crown Counsel Krystal Delaney queried the nature of the relationship he had with his grandmother and with his uncle, the witness was adamant it was “good”.

One of nine police witnesses was also called today.

Acting Station Sergeant Trevor Stewart escorted the body of the victim from the scene in St Lucy to Two Sons Funeral Home. That was the extent of his involvement in the matter before the court.

It was at this point that Delaney told the judge all three doctors in the case would be available to give their evidence tomorrow as well as to continue hearing testimony from the other investigators.

Seven of the 23 witnesses are left to testify in the hearing which resumes tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.