Police witness explains how alleged gangsters were arrested

One of the 33 alleged members of the One Don Gang reportedly told the police "A suh di badness guh" before he was charged for being a member of a criminal organisation.

The defendant, Rivaldo Hylton, was one of 13 defendants in the Clansman-One Don Gang trial who were yesterday identified by the lead investigator as persons he had charged.

The police witness, a detective sergeant, while providing details on the arrest and charge of some of the defendants, recalled that Hylton had made that comment when he was told that he was going to be charged. The cop, who has been on the witness stand in the Home Circuit Court since last Wednesday, said that the defendant, alias 'Q', was in custody at the Kingston Central Police Station when he was charged.

He also told the court that the Jamaica Defence Force soldier, Jermaine Robinson, was among the batch of persons he had charged. The police witness previously testified that a number of the defendants were apprehended during a joint police/military operation in St Catherine on June 25, 2019 and were transported to different lock-ups across Kingston and St Andrew. According to the witness, he visited the respective defendants and after introducing himself, informed them that they were suspects in a gang investigation and cautioned them before they were each charged with being a part of a criminal organisation.

But, he told the court that only Hylton made a comment when being cautioned. The police witness will continue his testimony when the trial resumes this morning before Chief Justice Bryan Sykes.