A forensics examiner today presented conversations that were “pulled” from a Barbados Defence Force (BDF) cellular phone assigned to Coast Guard Lieutenant David Harewood.
The evidence was presented by Sergeant Emille Jacobs, who took the stand today on the third day of Harewood’s court martial at the BDF’s St Ann’s Fort headquarters.
The senior military officer, who is represented by Vincent Watson, is charged with between August 7 and 10, 2018, without lawful authority knowingly communicated with Akem Waithe, alias Ellis, while using a cellular phone belonging to the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) and that on an unknown date in January 2018, he communicated with a well known drug trafficker.
Harewood also faces a charge that on an unknown date in January 2018, being a commissioned officer in the BDF, having knowledge of a threat to the life of a junior member, neglected to inform his superiors of such a threat.
Additionally, he is charged with conducting unauthorised information gathering operations, conduct unbecoming of a commissioned officer in the BDF.
Jacobs presented the report that was prepared by his colleague Station Sergeant Candacy Maynard, who was absent due to sickness.
Both Jacobs and Maynard work with the Regional Security System (RSS) forensics lab.
Under examination by prosecutor Lieutenant Jamar Bourne, Jacobs explained that Cellebrite software was used to retrieve the data from the cellular phones.
He said in addition to the BDF phone assigned to Harewood, data was also extracted from a phone belonging to Ordinary Seaman Terrell Gibbons.
Jacobs said the BDF phone assigned to Harewood had outgoing WhatsApp calls to 230-7875, a number attributed to Akem Waithe. It also had incoming calls from that number, as well as one WhatsApp message which read, “Yo bro”.
However, Jacobs admitted that no name was attributed to 230-7875 on Harewood’s BDF assigned cellular phone.
Jacobs said data retrieved from Gibbons’ cellular phone revealed a group chat and a personal conversation.
On that cellular phone, Gibbons had contacts saved as Shrek Lord, Boss HWood and World Boss.
In the group chat in which Boss HWood was a member, persons had conversations where they spoke about “juices”.
However, in another chat, World Boss sent a message to Gibbons saying, “I want to see your boss.”
A screenshot of a subsequent conversation was pulled from the phone which Gibbons sent to Boss HWood.
Boss HWood then responded by saying, “I am not about meeting anybody else so he can speak through you, you know the procedure.”
Gibbons then relayed that message to World Boss who said he did not deal with informers.
When the forensics examiner was cross examined by defense counsel Vincent Watson, he admitted it was possible that although the phone was assigned to the accused someone else could have had access to it.
Under further cross examination, Jacobs said while he was not the person to perform the tests on the phones, from all accounts the machinery used was in good working order.
Jacobs denied the machinery used could track and monitor cellular phones as well as intercept and manipulate data.
The prosecution is expected to wrap up its case when the matter resumes at 9 a.m.
