Analyst says alleged Klans gangsters, Crown witness cell numbers ‘communicated’
Adetailed report from a communication’s analyst featuring call records to prove that there was in fact communication between the star witness and several alleged members of the Klansman Gang on Wednesday took centre stage in the ongoing trial.
The analyst, a police sergeant, attached to the Communication Forensics and Cybercrime Division (CFCD) of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), was taking the stand for the first time in the Home Circuit Division of the Supreme Court in downtown Kingston following the testimony of two witnesses from the island’s main telecommunication outfits, Digicel and Flow.
The 25-year veteran, addressing the tribunal, said he would be presenting “call records to show that several numbers that were requested, that are linked to witnesses and alleged suspects, communicated together”.
The recordings of purported incriminating conversations between the gangsters were surreptitiously made by the main witness — an ex-gang member — using three phones, two of which were given to him by the cops with recordings of conversations between himself and members of the gang, after he started working with the police undercover in 2018 to help dismantle the criminal organisation. Those conversations were played into the records of the court over several days in February of this year after the phones, the compact discs with the recordings, and the transcripts of those recordings were entered into evidence.
Yesterday the analyst said he would be showing during his time on the stand that, “the three phones that were taken from a witness in this matter, the IMEI numbers (International Mobile Equipment Identity, a unique number assigned to mobile phones) are seen in the call data as communicating with numbers attributed to that witness”.
Furthermore, he said he would also “show cell site information of witness numbers where these numbers were used, which is relevant to the case before the court”.
“I am here to show cell site mapping in relation to numbers that are used linked to suspects and other things,” the witness said.
“I guess you will be here for a long time,” trial Judge Chief Justice Bryan
Sykes quipped, triggering laughter.
The cop said several numbers were received from the investigating officer at the Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime (CTOC) Branch who was doing investigations into this matter in relation to the offences for which the various accused are being tried. He said a request was made to the island’s two telecommunications providers for call data, SMS and subscriber information and was subsequently received. He said preliminary analysis was done followed by several cases reviewed at CTOC between 2018 and 2019. The expert witness said he created a master document containing all the relevant call data records detailing dates and times of calls, their duration, the callers and receivers with names and aliases as well as the cell towers.
That master document represented on a compact disc was on Wednesday successfully tendered and accepted into evidence.
The communications analyst then delved into the call data schedule from telecoms firm Flow’s for January 1, 2019 to August 14, 2019. Witness Number One had told the court in his testimony earlier in the trial that the gang members preferred that network over its competitor as they felt it was safer.
In the details so far shared with the court, calls were seen emanating from the cellular phones of Witness Number One and Number Two to the handsets of several of the accused including alleged leader Andre “Blackman” Bryan, alleged top-tier member Jason Brown O/C Citypuss, Stephanie Christie O/C Mumma, Jahzeel Blake O/C Squeeze Eye, and Fabian Johnson O/C Crocs. Several cell sites across Kingston and St Catherine came into play as well as one in St Thomas where a call involving Christie, who led a church in that area was detailed.
The call data also showed calls between Witness Number One and the lead investigator. Critical to the prosecution’s case is a telephone conversation during a daring car chase, which ended in a shootout with a police team on Garbally Drive in Spanish Town and the death of two of three men who were aboard the vehicle. The police in that incident were aided by intelligence from Witness Number One who was also in the vehicle through an open telephone line.
According to the cops, the objective of that chase had been to prevent “the men from going on a shooting spree”. Witness Number One who was unharmed but badly “shaken” had been taken from the scene and placed at a safehouse following that incident.
The matter resumes at 10 today where the witness is expected to return to the stand.
In the details so far shared with the court, calls were seen emanating from the cellular phones of Witness Number One and Number Two to the handsets of several of the accused including alleged leader Andre “Blackman” Bryan, alleged top-tier member Jason Brown O/C Citypuss, Stephanie Christie O/C Mumma, Jahzeel Blake O/C Squeeze Eye, and Fabian Johnson O/C Crocs