Gang leader laughed as man shot dead, court told
Published:Friday | September 24, 2021 | 12:05 AMTanesha Mundle/Staff Reporter
A state witness yesterday told the Home Circuit Court that Andre ‘Blackman’ Bryan, the alleged leader of the deadly One Don Gang, laughed as his bodyguard carried out a hit on a man in St Catherine in 2018.
The former gangster-turned-state witness was continuing his testimony via video link from a remote location as the Clansman-One Don Gang trial continued in downtown Kingston.
The self-confessed member of the gang, who described his role as being Bryan’s personal driver, the gang’s banker and designated driver, is the first of two ex-members who will be testifying in the trial.
During yesterday’s morning session, the witness provided details on two more murders that he claimed had been ordered by Bryan and executed by his alleged foot soldiers.
The two murders that the witness detailed yesterday involved the November 2017 killing of an individual called ‘Outlaw’ in Lauriston and the January 2018 murder of a deportee identified only as ‘Rasta’ in Jones Town, both in St Catherine.
The witness told the court that he had witnessed Bryan ordering the hit on both individuals and that he was the driver who had transported the killers to and from the locations of the murders.
In the case of Outlaw, the witness recalled seeing the feared reputed leader in a fit of laughter after he was told that the man had been shot.
The witness told the court that Bryan, who had requested to have a look at the man before he was killed, started laughing after hearing gunshots while driving away from where the man was seen selling phone cards in Lauriston, St Catherine.
That man, the witness said, had been gunned down by Bryan’s bodyguard, who he pointed out in court as being Tareek James.
In the other matter, the witness recalled knowing the victim, who he said was a deportee who he and another alleged gangster, now deceased, had assisted with a new pair of shoes.
UNKNOWN MOTIVE
The witness was unable to shed light on why both men were killed.
Further, he told the court that it was not his place to question his former boss.
“He gave me orders, not explanation.
“He is not going to give me any explanation,” the former gangster declared.
The witness has now detailed three murders that were allegedly being ordered by Bryan.
But after the lunch session, Chief Justice Bryan Sykes informed the court that the matter was going to be adjourned as the witness was not feeling well.
“I know you are all excited to hear what happens next, but the witness is not feeling well.
“I can see all the crestfallen faces of the attorneys,” the judge said, amid laughter from the court.
The witness will this morning continue to recount his experience with the deadly One Don Gang.
Bryan and 32 other alleged gang members are being tried on an indictment with 25 counts under the Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organizations) Act and the Firearms Act, to which they have all pleaded not guilty.
Among other things, they are charged with being part of a criminal organisation, illegal possession of firearm, illegal possession of ammunition, facilitating conspiracy to murder, and facilitating arson.
One Don is a splinter of the feared St Catherine-based Clansman Gang, which is reputedly headed by incarcerated accessory-to-murder convict Tesha Miller.
The prosecution is alleging that the One Don Gang carried out a range of murders, conspiracies to murder, extortion, and arson throughout St Catherine between January 1, 2015, and June 30, 2019.