Ruddock claims he was pressured to make murder confession

Murder accused Andre Ruddock on Monday testified that a police constable assaulted him, threatened him with a gun, and pressured him to take the blame for Taneka Gardner’s killing on behalf of church leader Kevin Smith.

Ruddock, who is on trial for Gardner’s murder in the Home Circuit Court in downtown Kingston, said the cop also coerced him into confessing to the killing and providing a caution statement.

The 36-year-old farmer, who was giving evidence in his own defence as the trial entered the defence stage, said he was repeatedly assaulted and intimidated by the constable, who allegedly wanted him to accept responsibility for the October 17, 2021 murder.

Asked by his attorney to respond to earlier testimony from the detective constable that he had confessed to killing Gardner at the scene, Ruddock said: “A dat him tell me fi say.”

He recalled the officer telling him that “Me must tek de charge fi di boss”, and promising that Smith would take care of him while he was in prison.

Smith died in a traffic accident a week after presiding over the deadly church service at the Pathways International Kingdom Restoration Ministries in Montego Bay.

Ruddock denied confessing to the murder, including in the presence of a female police officer.

He said the ordeal began after police and soldiers entered the church compound following the killing and apprehended several members, including himself.

Before the police arrived, Ruddock said, he had gone to the church with his cow and saw Smith standing at the gate with a knife while Gardner knelt nearby. He testified that he saw Smith hold Gardner by the head and slash her throat.

He further claimed that Smith and a junior minister-in-training fired at the police, resulting in the junior minister being shot. Ruddock said he took cover behind a column at the gate before the police and soldiers apprehended him and other church members.

He testified that the detective constable subsequently questioned him about his identity, asking whether his name was Andre Kirlew. After Ruddock gave his correct name, the officer allegedly grabbed him by his shorts and pushed him in the chest, accusing him of lying.

“After dat, him puff mi inna mi chest and mi ease him off, and him draw him gun,” Ruddock claimed.

Asked how he felt when the officer pulled the firearm, he replied: “Same time mi feel like dem did a go kill mi.”

Ruddock said the constable later took him towards a bathroom and demanded identification. He explained that his identification was in his bag in the meeting room, where the officer allegedly dragged him. After retrieving his driver’s licence, Ruddock claimed the constable pushed him in the chest, causing him to fall over a chair, then kicked him in his side.

“Dat time me feel him did a go kill ‘cause nobody was around there and him have him gun inna him hand,” he told the court.

ASSAULTED BY CONSTABLE

He said a soldier intervened, questioning why the constable was assaulting him.

The soldier reportedly said: “Yuh caa a beat up de youth so”, to which the constable allegedly responded: “Dem p**** yah fi dead like de rest a dem.”

Asked how he felt at the time, Ruddock said: “Dat time mi feel say mi dead. Mi just give up life same time.”

He further alleged that the officer later pointed the firearm at him and pushed him in the chest with it.

Ruddock said he was eventually taken to a police station, where the constable insisted that he provide a statement. He testified that he refused because he was unwilling to accept responsibility for another man’s crime.

“Him say mi affi gi a statement, and him a guh go weh and come back and mi affi gi a statement,” Ruddock told the jury.

He said the officer returned hours later, claiming that justices of the peace were present, but allegedly pulled his gun and pushed him in the chest when he again refused to give a statement.

“Dat time me feel him did a go kill me,” he said.

Ruddock denied signing his caution statement and a subsequent question-and-answer document voluntarily, saying he did so because he feared for his life.

“Me caa bring a fist to a gunfight,” he told the court.

He also said he did not trust the justices of the peace because they had been brought in by the police and would side with them.

Ruddock further recounted an alleged confrontation with Smith while they were being transported to Kingston in a police vehicle on the day of the crash that killed Smith.

He testified that Smith warned him not to tell anyone that he had killed Gardner or Michael Brown. Ruddock said he refused to accept responsibility and intended to tell the authorities what had happened.

According to Ruddock, Smith threatened to crash the vehicle and kill everyone inside if he revealed who had committed the killings.

He said a constable later offered to speak with the investigating officer about removing him from the vehicle because of Smith’s threats. Ruddock was subsequently removed in Falmouth, placed in another vehicle and taken to the Major Organised Crime Agency office in Kingston.

During the journey, Ruddock said, Smith also claimed that he and Gardner had been involved in a relationship since 2019 and that she had contracted HIV. According to Ruddock, Smith cited this as the reason for his actions and urged him to accept the murder charge so that he could go free.

Ruddock will be cross-examined when the trial resumes today.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com