Heavenly fire

The late leader of the Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries had reportedly claimed to be the prophet ‘Elijah’ and tried to summon heavenly fire before shooting at cops during a bloody 2021 service at the church.

“Mr [Kevin] Smith started to say he was Elijah and just as Elijah called down fire from Heaven to consume the army. [He said,] ‘If I be a prophet of God and the word from my mouth is true, I call down fire from Heaven to consume the 5-0s’,” a former member of the church testified.

The seven-member jury, which listened intently, was told that Smith repeated the declaration three times.

The witness, who broke down during the proceedings while recalling how he had been shot by Smith, also said the church leader had told him he was immortal and had instructed another member to attack the police. That member, one of Smith’s ‘archangels’, was shot and killed.

The witness, whose name is being withheld by order of the court, was continuing his testimony in the trial of Andre Ruddock, who is charged with the murder of 39-year-old Taneka Gardner during an alleged sacrificial ritual at the church in St James.

According to the witness, the confrontation unfolded after police arrived outside the church compound.

This, according to the witness’ previous account, was after Ruddock had cut Gardner’s throat on Smith’s instructions and Smith had also killed Michael Brown by ripping out dialysis tubes from his neck.

The witness, continuing his second day of evidence, said that, as it was getting dark, he returned to the main gate and observed three police vehicles parked opposite the entrance, on the other side of the road.

The witness said one police officer was attempting to climb over a section of the church’s perimeter fence when Smith started referring to himself as Elijah.

The witness said Smith, after attempting to call down heavenly fire, called out to a female police officer and spoke to her.

After their exchange, Smith reportedly took up a firearm and began shooting at the police.

The witness said he moved away and took cover behind a column.

From there, he said, he could see Smith firing towards the police.

Asked what else happened, he said he did not observe everything taking place on the compound at that point because his attention was focused on Smith, as he wanted to see if the police were going to fire back at the Pathways leader.

However, he said he did not see the police return fire at that stage and that they were bending down in front of their service vehicles

The witness said Smith subsequently called for a Pathways member, who was also a policewoman, and instructed her to bring an additional magazine, and she complied.

After receiving the magazine, Smith continued firing towards the police, the witness testified.

Again, the witness said he did not see the police retaliate.

Members of the congregation were also outside the church compound during the exchange, he said.

“They were not running or moving or anything at all,” he said.

“The only thing I can remember is that I heard a loud shot at the gate,” he said, before recounting how he himself was shot.

Asked who shot him, he said, “Dr Kevin Smith”, before breaking down in tears.

The witness, who wept openly with tears streaming down both sides of his face, was allowed to sit and compose himself before resuming his testimony before Justice Leighton Pusey.

The witness, in continuing, pulled off his shirt and showed the two areas on his back where he said he had been shot, pointing out the entry and exit wounds. He also showed where he had been stabbed in the back.

The witness, earlier in his evidence, said he was stabbed in his back while leaving, after Smith had told him his throat had to be cut in order for him to enter the Kingdom.

Continuing his evidence about how he was shot, he said he felt as if he had received a hard punch before falling to the ground.

The witness said he subsequently heard loud explosions coming from near where Smith was positioned.

He said he then jumped up from the ground as he was in shock.

According to the witness, Smith told him, “You are immortal, you cannot die.”

At that point, the witness said, he did not see the police immediately around him, although he later observed police personnel standing “at the top of the compound”.

He said Smith spoke to Kevon Plummer after Plummer ran towards the police officers with a 12-inch knife and was shot.

The witness previously testified that Smith had appointed both Plummer and Ruddock as Archangels Gabriel and Michael.

The witness recalled seeing Plummer fall to the ground.

He testified that, after that, “a lot of shots” were being fired across the compound.

By then, he said, he was in severe pain and was lying flat on the boardwalk.

“I saw him looking at the sky and pointing his finger at the sky,” the witness recalled.

At the time, the witness said he was crying out that he was in pain, and Smith walked over to him and pushed his fingers into the gunshot wounds.

Asked if he could see the police personnel, he said he remembered looking up and seeing his mother.

The witness said police and soldiers then came onto the boardwalk where he was and one of the soldiers kicked him, saying he had been firing, and he denied it.

He told the court that a police officer intervened and told the soldier to stop, pointing out that he, the witness, was shot.

The witness said he was subsequently placed on a stretcher and, while passing the retaining wall, saw Gardner’s body.

The witness, who was taken to the Cornwall Regional Hospital, said he also remembered seeing both Ruddock and Smith lying down on the ground with police personnel around them.

The witness will continue his evidence today in the Home Circuit Court.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com