Cleaning house

While incarcerated, an alleged top lieutenant in the Clansman-One Don Gang was caught on tape revealing plans to rob a businessman of his licensed firearm and to demand $500,000 for its return because he felt that the man was handing over extortion funds to a disloyal gang member.

“Yeah, get di credit and mek mi chat to de b…y boy P… 'cause right now mi a go tek off him ting from him, enuh, parry, and him affi go buy dat back fi one $500, enuh,” the man said to be City Puss was heard saying in a secretly recorded telephone conversation played in the Home Circuit Court yesterday.

The recordings were captured by an ex-gang member, who is one of the prosecution's star witnesses in the trial of 33 accused gangsters.

City Puss, who is reportedly the gang's second in command and also goes by the name 'Lucifer', said that he did not know the intended target's address but planned to attack him on Jones Avenue in Spanish Town, St Catherine, as he visited the business place there daily.

In an earlier conversation, City Puss told the witness, “Mi call di boy P… and P… a go tell me say nothing nah gwaan, but mi a go pressure him bc….t 'cause mi waa tek da piece deh off a him.”

The alleged gangster said that the businessman, who was insisting that business was slow, told him that Brucky – a now-deceased member of the gang – had visited him and had demanded $50,000 weekly or monthly.

The witness told the court that City Puss and the gang's reputed leader, Andre 'Blackman' Bryan, wanted Brucky dead as they felt he and others were working with cops.

Brucky, he explained was the brother-in-law of defendant Jahzeel 'Squeeze Eye' Blake, who the gang's alleged hierarchy also wanted killed and had given orders for him to get the first fatal strike from a new gun the gang had bought.

But during one of the recordings, City Puss was heard complaining that two of the alleged gangsters who were ordered to kill Brucky were stalling.

Noting that a week had passed without the hit being carried out, City Puss said he called one of the alleged shooters, defendant Joseph 'Papa McDermott, who assured him that he was going do it quickly, but on the next occasion when he called, he was told that the man was not working against the gang.

City Puss questioned the delay, noting that the quicker it was done, the sooner they could move on to something else.

He, however, told the witness that he instructed defendant Dillon McLean to carry out the hit.

In another conversation, City Puss was heard saying that he did not like Squeeze Eye, who had disrespected him, and that he was itching to tell him that he was going to kill him but decided against it since he also wanted to kill his brother-in-law.

But City Puss claimed that the two men and Papa were siding with the other disloyal members of the gang.

Further in the conversation, the witness told him that the lone female defendant, Stephanie 'Muma' Christie, told him that she was going to kill another member of the gang – 'Jim Brown' – who they suspected had become untrustworthy.

He indicated that he did not like how the police were closely patrolling the avenue, while adding that defendant Daniel 'Sick Head' McKenzie should also be wiped out.

At this point in the court proceedings, the witness indicated that he had informed the police of the plot to kill Squeeze Eye, and they had ensured that they were always close by.

During the playing of another recording, the witness and his cronies were also discussing a rental car, which they would use in carrying out hits on two other members of the gangs, defendant Marco 'Ezzi' Miller and Dwight 'Jim Brown' Hall.

According to the witness, Bryan had instructed them to kill the men and he had gone ahead and rented the vehicle.

The 33 accused are being tried on a 25-count indictment. The matter continues today.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com