Prosecution gets time to analyse call data; trial resumes March 23
over 3 years in Jamaica Observer
PROSECUTORS in the trial involving 33 alleged members of the deadly Klansman Gang Wednesday called for a hiatus to pore over a just released report surrounding data from the island's telecoms providers of critical call data records and cell site details linked to taped conversations between alleged members of the gang and confiscated handsets, a move described as "grossly unfair" by the defence.The call data and cell site records had been submitted in December last year after weeks of haranguing which even saw the Crown threatening to invoke the powers of the court to haul the island's telecoms providers before the tribunal in respect to the records to end the impasse. Following the release of that information, it, however, had to be subjected to extraction and analysis by the Communication Forensics and Cybercrime Division (CFCD) of the constabulary, which has generated a report. It is this report from which the Crown will extract elements to further build its case.On Wednesday, the Crown, in indicating that it had no more witnesses for the remainder of this week, said it had finally received the report from CFCD and was "asking for some time to peruse the several documents"."What we are asking is to give us until Monday (March 21) so that we can peruse all the material we now have coming from CFCD and the providers to determine the number and who the witnesses should be," a senior prosecutor indicated. In the meantime, the court was told that the transcription of the last of the recorded phone calls, several of which have already been heard by the court, is complete."There is one more step and that is for the officer to listen to it and arrangements have been made for her to do so and she will then return to the witness box to give evidence. Hopefully, by the time that is done, we can recall (Witness Number One who has been testifying about the circumstances surrounding the calls and those involved)," the court was told.The call data records and cell site information are being counted on as part of the evidence in the case by prosecutors, especially in relation to a drama-filled car chase in the old capital of Spanish Town to intercept armed gangsters aboard motor vehicles in 2019.The lead police investigator, in his testimony during the trial, said he and another police team had been able to ascertain the travel path of the vehicle through an open phone line with the aid of Witness Number One, a former gang member turned Crown witness, who was the driver of that car and who, unbeknownst to his cronies, was secretly working with the police. The police investigator told the court that while the CFCD had been listening in on the call at the time as well and had recorded it, the police had faced difficulties in getting the call data from the telecommunications companies for the cellular phones used at that time.On Wednesday, the Crown said police officers, service providers and Witness Number One will testify in relation to the material."The ultimate objective is that we have another witness in the form of [a] detective sergeant who has done a flow chart that shows calls were made from certain numbers and from certain locations at a specific time, tying in to what the witness has said."He had testified that he made calls from certain institutions to different persons or that he received calls from certain institutions where persons were on different occasions.Several of the recorded conversations allegedly took place between incarcerated members of the criminal outfit such as alleged leader Andre "Blackman" Bryan, Jason Brown, O/C City Puss, and other members who were not behind bars.In the meantime, the prosecutors on Wednesday could not speak to the correlation between the recordings and cell site analysis, stating "we cannot say until we have examined the CFCD aspect of it".The admission, which was made in relation to a question from trial judge Chief Justice Bryan Sykes then saw him enquiring whether the interval requested was sufficient time for both the Crown and defence to review the material, given the volume and intricacies involved.Defence attorney Lloyd McFarlane, who represents Bryan, said:"The court has for some time now been accommodating the prosecution. I have said before and now I repeat. We think this is grossly unfair to the defence that after so many months. We still don't know what their case is and so when Milordship asks will we be ready, the answer is we still don't even know. All I can say is we will try, we can't give any assurances because we don't know."Last December, McFarlane, following disclosure by the Crown regarding the impasse with the telecoms providers, had expressed similar sentiments. "What we have here is a case that started on September 20. After a lot of case management this court is intended to sit to deal with the trial, not case management, and we are still doing case management in circumstances that are entirely unfair to the defence. We should never be placed in the position where we still don't know what the prosecution intends to present, even at the end of a whole term," McFarlane said then."We have reached the bridge and the prosecution should not be allowed to go further in terms of this [stage] of the evidence which they are still not in position to tell the court if they have," McFarlane added on that occasion.The matter was adjourned to next Wednesday, March 23.