Duo gets 35 years for ‘gang hit’ of man ‘in disabled state’

Likening the killing of Darrell Harris to “a gang hit”, Justice Carlisle Greaves on Friday sentenced Jaleel Kadeem Callender and Jalen Trimal Jones-Cox to 35 years for the slaying.

Callender, 31, of Block 2D Barbarees Gardens, Barbarees Hill, St Michael and Jones- Cox, 23, of Kings Gap, Eagle Hall, of the same parish were jointly charged with murdering Harris on January 15, 2019. Last November, a jury acquitted them of murder but unanimously found them guilty of manslaughter.

“This is a case which, in my opinion, seems to have had an element of some kind of feud. A case in which, like some gang cases, Callender — the elder one — groomed Jones-Cox to carry out this hit. The now deceased man, Harris, had been previously shot and was in a disabled state, and they knew that,” the judge said.

Harris had one leg in a cast, while the other had surgical pins, requiring him to use crutches.

Justice Greaves continued, “The evidence shows that (Harris) was sitting on his bucket outside his house in the early morning, sipping his tea with his crutches alongside him and yet Mr Jones-Cox left his house, all the way up in Eagle Hall in the early morning and went down to Mr Callender’s house where he said he got a gun from Mr Callender—Mr Harris’ next-door neighbour—and left there with it.

“He could have taken any route to travel from that house but chose to walk in the direction of Mr Harris and discharge at least six rounds of ammunition at him… and Mr Harris was shot several times. And (Jones-Cox’s) excuse for that was that he thought he saw him fidget.

No evidence he ever saw a gun. No convincing or persuasive evidence that there was any gun present. None was recovered, and that was his excuse.”
Commenting on Jones-Cox’s testimony that two nights prior, Harris had pulled a gun on him, the judge dismissed his claim that the decision to pull the trigger that morning was out of fear for his life.

“Mr Jones-Cox’s excuse that he was acting in some kind of self-defence or some kind of provocation is hollow,” the judge submitted, arguing that if Harris had truly been a “real threat” to him, he would have shot him, then in the dark.
Justice Greaves also pointed to the testimony of Jones-Cox that Callender had given him a gun to hold days before the incident.

“He was already preparing Mr Cox for some kind of shooting enterprise…. He left an 18-year-old with an illegal firearm and went off. That, in my opinion, was grooming and preparing. Those are not mere coincidences that early in the morning, this 18-year-old was at Mr Callender’s house to collect a gun and to shoot Mr Harris at his weakest.

“The evidence suggests that Mr Callender took a front-row seat at what was about to go down … [from] his bedroom window…. Conveniently after that, he was able to get out in time to get around to Passage Road as Mr Cox was coming down the road, to give him a lift and buy him new clothes to get rid of the clothes he had on during the shooting, and take the gun back. That is evidence to me of clear gang-type grooming preparation—generals giving out orders and soldiers carrying them out,” the judge continued.

The judge said that the facts of the case and the sentencing guidelines reflected that the matter should be treated as manslaughter at the level of “borderline murder”.

Starting at 35 years for both men, he explained that while Callender did not pull the trigger, he provided the firearm and the means of escape.

After deductions for delay and time spent on remand, Callender was sentenced to serve 32 years and three months more behind bars, while Jones-Cox will spend the next 30 years and eight months at Dodds.

During the sentencing hearing, the judge lamented that while “many of our cases show elements of it,” Barbados’ legal system had yet to reach the level of Jamaica or Bermuda, where legislation exists to specifically address cases where murder or manslaughter is motivated by gang rules or policies.

Earlier in the proceedings, Principal State Counsel Neville Watson called the killing “an execution”, pointing to the five injuries to the deceased’s body outlined in the post-mortem report. He had submitted that the convicted men should serve life in prison with a tariff of 35 years.

This starkly contrasted with the submissions of King’s Counsels Andrew Pilgrim and Michael Lashley, who represented Callender and Jones- Cox, respectively.

They suggested a starting point of five to 10 years.
Both senior lawyers said there was an aspect of spontaneity in the offence and an element of provocation. They also highlighted the evidence given by a police officer who testified that Harris was known as “a gunman”.

Moments before his sentence, Jones-Cox apologised to the court and begged for leniency, saying that he wanted to contribute to society.

“At that time, I was young, and now that I am older and wiser, I can be beneficial to society and be a good citizen. I am a hard worker and love my family, so I am asking that you give me a chance so that I can continue my studies, my education and be a better person to society,” he said.

In his statement, Callender said, “I can’t spend a lot of time in prison. I have two little children — a one-year-old and a seven-year-old, Sir, — and I have no one to run my business.”