Murder accused Lorent Forde on Tuesday recalled running for his life when the man he was later accused of killing opened fire on a block in Silver Sands, Christ Church where he was liming almost seven years ago.
However, he insisted he had nothing to do with the shooter’s murder.
Giving an unsworn statement from the dock in the No. 2 Supreme Court, he told a 12-member jury that he and a group of friends were chilling and listening to music at the four-cross in the district when Ajay Smith walked towards them and fired “multiple shots”.
“We all ran for our lives,” he said, adding that they fled behind the shed they had been in and through a track that leads to a path between several houses. “When we was running going through the track, I tripped and fall and getting back up, I run between two houses. When I get there, one of the other fellas that was there with me liming was in front of me and told me he thought I had gotten shot down because he saw me fall. It was only then that I realised that I could feel a burning on the left side of my stomach, and that’s when I knew that I was grazed by one of the bullets.”
The Bourne’s Land, Christ Church resident said he used his cellphone to look at the wound while other people asked him if he was okay.
“Afterwards, the other guys were angry about the situation. They were saying words like ‘He like he ain’t gine stop’ and ‘We gine have to put a stop to this’ and stuff like that. I told them, ‘The best thing to do is to go home’. The guys say that they have to put a stop to it or not it will keep on happening all the time. They said they were going to go and see if they see Ajay because it sounded like he had fired all the shots because he had a spin barrel gun,” Forde continued.
He said several of the men got into a car and drove off while he searched for his gold chain which had fallen off while he was fleeing the area. The vehicle returned two minutes later and the men inside told him that they were going through the next gap to a place where Ajay limed with friends.
“When dem decide to go down there, I tell myself it is best that I get from here because the fact that he just came and shot at us and went in the direction where his friends are, if I go down there and he and his friends had to see us, probably something else would occur. I try to stop them from going but they had already went long, so I left. I left my slippers, forget about my gold chain and the bag that I had on my back and left there,” he told the court.
Forde said he then went by a female friend who lived nearby, explained what had happened, and stayed there until morning as he had been “traumatised” by the incident. After returning to his home to get a bath, he went down his gap to chill and saw a group of parents taking their children to school at St Christopher’s Primary. He said they returned soon after, saying there was no school as there was a body on the hardcourt. Ten minutes later, someone told him that the deceased was Smith.
Forde recalled that a week after that, he heard that several persons had been charged with Smith’s murder.
“A week and some after that, I was by one of my friends and some police officers came and told me that they were looking for me in connection with Ajay’s murder. I told them I had nothing to do with his murder, nor I wasn’t present at the time,” he said, claiming that he was then pinned to the ground, handcuffed and beaten “really bad” by officers who demanded that he give them the gun used to kill Smith.
Forde then said that the abuse continued after he was taken to the police station when he was asked to give a statement.
“I gave them a statement and they told me that they are not accepting it. They told me they want a statement stating that I shot the man. I told the officers that I did not shoot Ajay and I was not present when Ajay was shot…. The officers tell me that I had better put out a statement saying I shoot Ajay or they will now start to beat me,” he said, adding that he eventually wrote a statement due to the threats from police officers.
He also said he was taken to the doctor for the wound he sustained when the bullet had grazed him the night Smith shot at the men on the block. However, Forde said he had to return after he began vomiting blood due to the beating he received from police.
Forde is accused of fatally shooting Smith sometime between May 23 and 24, 2017.
Two state witnesses gave evidence earlier in the day, including scenes of crime photographer Police Constable Nicole Taylor and the lead investigator in the case, Inspector Mitchell Roach.
Principal State Counsel Oliver Thomas then closed the state’s case.
The trial continues next Monday when defence witnesses are expected to testify.
