After stealing almost $300 000 from the account of a retiree, former bank employee Kevin Dacosta Cadogan told police that he and his co-conspirator agreed to “frighten” the female pensioner.
However, he denied knowing that his accomplice had hired someone to shoot the woman.
This was part of the evidence read by Police Constable Paul Adamson as Cadogan’s trial got underway in the No. 4 Supreme Court on Wednesday.
The resident of Arthur Seat, St Thomas has pleaded not guilty to unlawfully and maliciously engaging in conduct, on August 24, 2011, which placed the woman, a retired nurse, in danger of death or serious bodily harm.
Adamson outlined that on the mentioned date, he and other officers responded to a call from the pensioner and went to her Kendall Hill, Christ Church home where they saw injuries to the thumb, and second and third fingers on her left hand. She directed police to a window where a hole in the glass was observed, as well as blood on the floor. A piece of metal was also found on the ground near her television stand. This was taken as evidence and given to the Firearm and Ballistics Examiner’s Office at a later date. The police constable said he returned to the retiree’s home on October 24 and she handed him a note.
He told the court that the accused Cadogan was taken to the Oistins Police Station and interviewed on October 27 and 28.
When he was asked about his whereabouts on August 24, Cadogan said that he was at work, later saying that he had since resigned from the job because of something “stupid” he had done. When told about the shooting incident, he replied, “We did only trying to frighten the woman because of what we do.”
In his statement, Cadogan said that in July 2011, he noticed an account that was rarely used with a large sum of money and made a mental note of it. A few days later, he had a conversation with his friend Kirk White about their state of living and how it would be better to have money to work with. White told him that if he had a large sum of cash, it could be invested, and returns could be gained in two weeks. Cadogan told White of the account, and they came up with a plan to get the money, which would require White to go to the bank and apply for a bank card under the pensioner’s name.
After executing the plan and gaining access to the cash, White asked if the money was traceable, and Cadogan informed him that as long as they put the cash back quickly, it would not be a problem.
A few days later, White asked him if it would not be easier if the woman get “take out”, but Cadogan said he was not a killer and “not about that”.
Cadogan said on August 24 when he was at work, White messaged him saying “case closed” and he messaged him back asking what that meant because he was “here tripping”. White repeated the message, telling him to relax.
“After Kirk and I talked about taking out the woman, he came up with a plan to scare the woman. When he messaged me, I know he had done something to the woman but I did not know what he did,” the accused’s statement continued.
Cadogan said he went by White’s bar later that evening where he introduced him to a man called Boy Boy, who was talking about the gang he was in and how he would do anything for Kirk. White told him then that he had taken Boy Boy up by the pensioner’s home and he “deal with the case”.
In the initial scheme to steal the money, Cadogan said he had stolen a hard copy file from the bank and gave it to White. It included the client’s personal information, including her photograph, signature, address and other details, so he would become comfortable with it before entering the bank.
Objecting to several of the oral statements attributed to her client, defence attorney Sade Harris told the officer, “I am suggesting to you that the responses recorded are not accurate.”
The police constable replied that he recorded what was said.
In his opening statement, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Alliston Seale SC, who is prosecuting the matter, told the jury that the case was one of joint enterprise, stating that while Cadogan was not the one who pulled the trigger, he was involved in the exercise.
“He and another hatched a plan to get rid of the account holder and got a man to do so,” Seale argued.
The trial continues on March 18.
