All six police officers charged with the murders of three Moruga friends in 2011 have exercised their right to remain silent at their trial.
They said they were doing so on the advice of their attorneys Israel Khan, SC, and Ulric Skerrit. Only one said he was calling witnesses in his defence.
Before the court are Sgt Khemraj Sahadeo, along with PCs Ronald Riveiro, Glenn Singh, Roger Nicholas, Safraz Juman and Antonio Ramadhin.
The are charged with the murders of Abigail Johnson, 23, Alana Duncan, 28, and Kerron “Fingers” Eccles on July 22, 2011.
On Friday, the choice to testify or call witnesses was put to the six after prosecutors closed their case against them.
There are no more witnesses to testify for the State and on Friday, a certificate of analysis of DNA testing on a latex glove and the deposition of civilian witness Andrel Richards were tendered into evidence.
The DNA test was inconclusive. The “DNA recovered was insufficient to yield a DNA profile,” the report said.
Richards was in a car ahead of the white Nissan B15 car the team of police officers shot at in Barrackpore on July 22, 2011. In the B15 were Johnson, Duncan and Eccles.
In Richards’ car was Duncan’s common-law husband, Shumba James, whom the officers were targeting, as he was allegedly wanted for two murders.
It is the State’s case that the three were unintended targets and James had borrowed a white B15 and took Duncan to the St Mary’s police post, where he had to report three times a week as part of his bail conditions.
According to Richards’ testimony at the Princes Town magistrates court, he knew the trio. That evening, after work, he met them and James at the Little Havana bar. He and other friends decided to go to a bar that had just opened in Barrackpore.
James and the other three followed in a white B15. They drove to another bar where they met another friend, Marvin Figaro, who decided to join them.
Johnson, the driver, Duncan and Eccles followed in the B15 while Richards, James and Figaro were in the former’s silver Toyota Altis.
He said when they got to Gunnes Trace in Barrackpore, he saw two police vehicles parked in a reversed position at an auto parts place. He described it as being “like a roadblock.” Richards said he slowed down but was not stopped.
He saw a police officer standing at the side of one of the vehicles, holding a shotgun, and heard someone say, “Don’t move.” Richards then said he heard consecutive gunshots and drove off.
“Sumba said. 'Is me they trying to kill dey.' He was crying.”
Richards said James called “Shuggie” to call an ambulance and said he had just gone to “sign the book” and did not know why they were trying to kill him.
In that testimony at the preliminary inquiry into the murders, Richards claimed only the first two pages of a six-page statement he gave to the police days after the incident were “the truth.”
“I was afraid for my life and my family life.”
In cross-examination by Skerritt in 2013, Richards admitted he lied in his first statement. He also said he
