Court hears how 5 accused chased victim and fired gunshots at him

A police corporal told a jury yesterday that he found four spent cartridges six inches away from blood stains on a track off Small Street in Barataria on the night of August 19, 2000, some two hours after Roger Alexander is alleged to have been shot four times in the back by six men. Cpl Patrick Thomas made the disclosure while testifying in the murder trial of Garvin Sookram aka “Bean,” John Wayne Alleyne aka “Bumbles,” Junior Sookram aka “Country,” Hassan Sanchez and Ronald Gaskin aka “Doom.” The five men are before Justice Rajendra Narine in the Port-of-Spain First Criminal Court charged with the murder of Alexander aka “One Arm,” a 34-year-old father of one from Eighth Avenue, Barataria.

While cross-examining Thomas, defence attorney Sean Cazabon made the observation that it was “strange” for the four spent shells to be found six inches from the blood stains since the spent cartridges are automatically ejected from the gun when it is fired. During the opening address of the State’s case by Senior Counsel Rangie Dolsingh, it was pointed out that the five accused were chasing after Alexander and firing at him. Another witness, taxi-driver Antonio Holder, testified that he was talking to a man called Rupert in the vicinity of Agnes’ shop when he saw Garvin Sookram and John Wayne Alleyne coming up the road together with other men.

Alexander, he said, was sitting on a stool outside the shop. He said Sookram, whom he knew for some 15 years, had a short object resembling a gun in his hand and Alleyne had a long object also resembling a gun. According to Dolsingh, who leads senior prosecutor Jeron Joseph,   Sookram had a revolver and Alleyne had a pump-action shotgun. Holder, aka “Dancow,” told the jury of seven women and five men that when the men reached the group liming in the area of  Small and Garrick Streets,  someone yelled “Allyuh don’t move.” Holder said he then heard a loud explosion and somebody in the crowd demanded, “Who shoot that shot?” He again heard a voice say: “Allyuh leave the block.”

He told defence attorney Pamela Elder SC: “I take off and gone... I did not see anybody going. I was not studying who coming, I going. Ma’m I did not see Kerry (Kerry Joseph, State’s main witness), I did not see Komo (Komo George, another witness).” Holder explained that when the order was given to “leave the block,” he did not look to the front to see who was running ahead of him or to the back to see who was following, he was just “going.” He recalled that everybody started to run. Holder said he was running up the hill when he heard four to five more explosions coming from Small Street and Sawmill Avenue. He then went home. Cpl Thomas had also told the court that he and other policemen were on mobile patrol in the area on the night of August 19, 2000, when he responded to a wireless transmission around 10.10 pm and went to the Small Street area.

He said he saw blood stains on a track off  Small Street and four cartridges. Three days later he said he obtained a search warrant and went to the home of Ronald Gaskin and arrested him. He also searched a car belonging to Alleyne. In the car he said he saw blood stains on the back seat and in the trunk. He said he noticed the trunk was wet and when he asked Alleyne about the wet trunk, Alleyne told him it was dirty and he cleaned it. He then arrested Alleyne. Hearing continues today.