Officer gives evidence in murder trial

The Kevin Andrew Haynes murder case will continue in the High Court on Wednesday.

Haynes, of Jordan Road, Belleplaine, St Andrew, is accused of murdering Rahim Ward between August 23 and 30, 2019.

When the trial continued before the jury and Justice Christopher Birch on Tuesday, Police Constable Ross Phillips told the court he was stationed at the Northern Police Division and assisted Acting Inspector Feliston Gilkes with the investigation of the discovery of Ward’s body at Walker’s, St Andrew.

Phillips went on to testify about two interviews conducted with Haynes.

In the first interview, the constable recounted the responses to questions posed to Haynes by Acting Inspector Gilkes. According to PC Phillips, the accused stated that he was present “that night . . . when everything happened”.

“I was on the spot when these fellas came up there. One had a gun . . . I was defending myself. I opened fire . . . I pulled the trigger. One fella run off and the other drop down.”

When asked where “on the spot” was, PC Phillips said Haynes spoke of an area where marijuana trees were located. He said the trees were behind the house of a man who was on the spot with him.

In addition, the constable recounted Haynes stating that he was the one who shot one of two men “that night” and took him “up a hill to hide him . . . because he was dead”.

According to PC Philips, Haynes said the man who was there with him assisted with “placing him in a crack in the hill”.

“I put lil mud over he,” PC Phillips recounted Haynes saying; adding that he used a “shovel and peck” to do so.

Phillips went on to say that Haynes admitted the weapon he had was a spin barrel gun which he hid under a shed where marijuana trees were.

When asked why he was in the ‘spot’, Haynes said he was “breezing” and had the gun to protect himself and the marijuana trees. Haynes, however, said he did not know anyone was coming to steal the marijuana trees but knew of some being stolen “a couple months before”.

In a subsequent interview, PC Phillips disclosed that Haynes said he could not give any information regarding any “spot” because he “wasn’t there”.

In response to questions regarding a shooting, shovel, peck, gun, shed or burial of anybody, Haynes said he was “intimidated” and he “did nothing so”.