Victim shot in the back with a gun linked to other shootings, court hears
The firearm used to murder Dekimo “Purple” Martin was used in connection with four other shooting incidents on the Island, Supreme Court heard yesterday.Mr Martin, 24, was gunned down in the early morning hours of May 28 last year while outside his family home, on Peacock Crescent, in Somerset.Twenty-one-year-old Kevin Warner, of Warwick Park Road, Warwick, has been charged with his premeditated murder and carrying a firearm used to commit an indictable offence.Mr Warner, represented by defence lawyers Kim Hollis QC and Elizabeth Christopher, has denied the charges.Yesterday prosecutor Carrington Mahoney alleged Mr Warner and his older brother Kavon Hart were both associated with west end gangs.Gang expert Sergeant Alex Rollin said the accused was part of the ‘White Hill Crew’, comprised of a group of people from the surrounding area.He said Mr Warner’s brother was a known associate of the MOB (Money over B****s) gang, whose territory runs from Somerset Bridge to Dockyard, Sgt Rollin said.He told the court MOB was known for selling controlled drugs, acts of violence and firearm related crimes on the Island.The jury also heard a police statement from Detective Constable Vernel Burgess who linked the 9mm firearm used in Mr Martin’s death with several other recent firearms incidents.The weapon has been linked to the murder of Colford Ferguson on February 11 and the attempted murder of Randy Lightbourne on July 23 last year; as well as two other shootings on March 16 and March 21 last year, whereby no one was shot.Det Con Burgess said: “From my experience it would appear that gang members share the same weapon as they do not have access to multiple weapons. Firearms available to gang members are usually hidden in an area within easy access to gang members.“All the linked firearms offences in regards to this firearm were committed in the Sandys parish area, operating area of the MOB gang.“Because these crimes were committed in the Sandys parish area and against non-MOB gang members in my opinion the weapon in this matter was an MOB weapon.”She said the MOB gang had been engaged in a deadly feud with rival gangs and anyone they believe is an enemy.Earlier in the trial, Charlita Campbell, a female acquaintance of Mr Warner’s, said the accused had come to her house the night after the murder and asked her to lie to police to provide him with an alibi.Ms Campbell told the court on Friday that Mr Warner didn’t want to tell the police he was really with his brother that night. She said: “He didn’t want to bring the heat to his brother’s house because he has drugs, money and guns on his property.”The witness also said she saw Mr Warner bathing with vinegar and Clorox bleach, but defence lawyer Ms Hollis claimed Ms Campbell was telling “untruths and embellishments”.Forensic pathologist Chitra Rao, from Canada, told the court she attended King Edward VII Memorial Hospital last May to examine Mr Martin’s body.She determined he was shot three times, two of the bullets travelled straight through the body, while one remained trapped inside.Dr Rao said the two back wounds showed Mr Martin was shot from behind and the “shooter was at a much lower level than the deceased”.She said he must have turned to the side at one point as one bullet entered from the side.“Most of it was from the back, but with the third wound he had just turned slightly or either he was in the process of collapsing and he sustained that wound as he was going down.”The case continues today before Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves.