Klansman Trial: Witness Changed Appearance

Day 27 of the one don Klansman trial, the prosecution’s witness revealed that members of the gang allegedly bragged about how many people they would kill. In one instance the witness pointed to a defendant who he alleged walked around with a severed head in a bucket.

Meanwhile, Chief Justice Bryan Sykes called for more structure and order in the trial going forward. Only two of the over 40 witnesses have testified so far in the matter against alleged gang leader Andre ‘Blackman’ Bryan and his 32- co-accused. At least 10 to 12 of those witnesses are said to be police officers.

According to the witness, the man who was allegedly killed in Ocho Rios, St. Ann was a member of the Tesha Miller faction of the gang. He admitted that he did not share this piece of information with the police. During further cross-examination, the witness revealed that he bleached his skin and grew his hair to disguise himself from the alleged gangsters. The defense accused the witness of blatantly lying about the murder of a man identified as an outlaw.

Discrepancies were found with the date of the murder on the indictment which read November 2017 versus January 2018, the date the witness gave in his statement.

Another attorney accused the witness of being deceitful, deceptive and dangerous, claiming that the witness only decided to cooperate with the police because his cellphone, license, and ID were found in a rental car where another gang member was allegedly shot and killed by the police.

But the witness rubbished the suggestion and it was later disclosed that his personal items were planted as a ploy for the gang to believe that he was a person of interest by the police.

Meanwhile, Chief Justice Brian Sykes raised concerns as it relates to the progress of the trial. He noted that with 25 counts on the indictment, 42 proposed witnesses, roughly 300 pages of transcripts, and other supporting documents, going forward there needs to be order and structure.

Justice Sykes says without this the trial is at risk of becoming difficult to manage; he requested from the prosecution a written map, navigating which witnesses are connected to each counts and what they will be talking about.

More in this CVM Live story from Robian Williams: