Cascade triple murder convict gets retrial

One of two men convicted of the December 2001 triple murder in Cascade was ordered to receive a retrial yesterday by the Court of Appeal. Daniel Agard won the right to a retrial, but his alleged partner in the crime, Lester Pitman, lost his appeal and had the death sentence affirmed on him. Agard succeeded on one ground of his appeal, which was associated with the issue of joint enterprise and argued by his attorney Bindra Dolsingh, instructed by Dawn Mohan. Both Agard and Pitman were convicted for the December 11, 2001, murders of Maggie Lee, Lynette Pearson and John Cropper, at Cropper’s home in Second Avenue, Cascade. They were sentenced to death by Justice Herbert Volney on July 14, 2004.

Justice of Appeal Stanley John gave an oral decision yesterday, but promised a written judgment by Monday. The court also ordered an early retrial for Agard. The appeal was heard in January, before Justices John (President), Ivor Archie and Paula Mae Weekes. The meritorious point argued by Dolsingh was that Agard had denied being directly connected to the murders. His case was that he went to rob the house with a man he named as Cudjoe, and he did not identify his accomplice as Lester Pitman. The State’s case was that the two men had embarked on a joint-enterprise to rob, and ended up killing the trio. Dolsingh, however, contended that after tying up and robbing the trio, Agard left the scene. Dolsingh also argued that Agard had no intention to kill, and that his confessional statement showed two separate transactions.

The first transaction was a plan to commit robbery, and during the course of this transaction he heard John Cropper scream, so he allegedly ran and told his confederate, “Don’t hit him again.” After the robbery, when the items were placed in a car which was driven off by an unknown person, Agard claimed he told Cudjoe, “leh we go from here,” and “he tell me ‘go ahead nah, go ahead and drop de things and dem’ —  how he ride go come back and pick him up and he go call me an tell meh which part to meet him.” Before Agard left, Cudjoe is alleged to have told him “he have something to finish up nah.”

They arranged to meet on the Lady Young Road to split the spoils of their robbery. It was there, Cudjoe is alleged to have said, “he fix dat scene.” When Agard asked what he was talking about, Cudjoe’s replay was, “dead people tell no tales nah.” Dolsingh’s submission was that there was a clear break between the robbery and the murders, and that Agard was not present when the murders occurred. The trial judge should have, therefore, clinically isolated the robbery and the murder and direct the question to ensure the jury was satisfied that Agard had  knowledge or foresight of Cudjoe’s intention to kill at that stage.