2012 Durban Street murder… Accused claim police forced them to sign statements

Feb 14, 2017 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

The three men facing a murder trial for the death of gold miner Glen Xavier have denied giving the police statements in regards to the crime. The men also claimed to have been forced by the police to sign the documents,

FROM LEFT ACCUSED: Fizal Moore called “Hard Mouth and Stephan Campbell called “Burnham”

containing notes they did not supply.
The incident took place on May 8, 2012.
According to the charge, Fizal Moore called “Hard Mouth’; Stephan Campbell, called “Burnham”; and Roy Yokum called “Ray Ray” are accused of murdering Xavier at Corn Bread Minimart, D’ Urban Street, Werk-en-Rust. Xavier is said to have been killed in the furtherance of a robbery. He died as a result of gunshot injuries.
The three men are facing a trial before Justice Navindra Singh and a mixed 12-member jury at the Georgetown High Court. State Prosecutors Siand Dhurjon and Tuanna Hardy closed their case after calling their final witness on Friday.
Yesterday the three were called upon to lead their defence after a no case submission by Attorney at law George Thomas was overruled by the Court.
All three accused elected to give unsworn statements. They each stood individually in the prisoner’s dock and gave their version of the story. However all three men essentially claimed that they were innocent of the offence.
They each told the court that the police used electric devices and other things to force them into signing documents (caution statements).
Last week, Detective Rodrick Melville told the court, accused murder Fizal Moore called ‘Hard Mouth,’ or ‘Winston Bostwick,’ had revealed to police investigators that there was a plot to rob gold miner Glen Xavier.
According to the Caution Statement, (CS) which was admitted into evidence, the accused said that he was in Albouystown when he received a telephone call from his friend “Ray Ray.”
He said that “Ray Ray” told about two men who had “a whole set of money” at a shop and he wanted help to go and rob them.
He said that he met “Ray Ray” in D’Urban Street, where they joined “Burnham” and another man nicknamed “X”.
Together, the accused told the police, he and his crew went down to the shop and proceeded to rob the men at the shop. But the accused said before they left the shop,” Burnham shoot up the shop wid the gun that he had to do the work.”
Earlier in the trial, Police Detective, Rodwell Sarrabo testified that accused murderer, Stephan Campbell, called “Burnham”, had supplied investigators with a caution statement in which he told them that he had been on a robbery with his partners, but he never shot anyone.
According to the statement, Campbell told detectives of a robbery plot.
In the statement, Campbell noted that he and his friends travelled on motorcycles to commit the act. He said during the process of the robbery, ‘Hard Mouth’ (Fizal Moore) whipped out a gun and shot the man (Xavier).
”I didn’t kill da man, me and ‘Hard Mouth’ go pun the wuk…I didn’t know that ‘Hard Mouth’ woulda shoot the man.”
The accused also told police that ‘Hard Mouth’ got $90,000 and a cell phone from the robbery, but didn’t give him any of the loot.
Sarrabo later faced questions from lawyers on the defence team, but he maintained that all the necessary protocols were observed and the accused gave his statement freely and voluntarily.

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