Sharkie spent two days on the witness stand

Vishwanath Jawahir, the 17th  witness called by the State in the Clint Huggins murder trial, testified yesterday that he had given two statements to the police. But in the first one he did not state everything he knew because he was afraid.

Jawahir, a taxi driver from Cunapo, Sangre Grande, admitted that in his first statement he did not relate how accused Leslie Huggins had asked him to drive to the Uriah Butler Highway, Mt Hope, to observe whether the Laurel motor car Leslie and “the boys” had set on fire for was completely burnt, nor did he tell the police all he knew. However, in his second statement, he went into details about his conversation with Leslie and what he had done and heard. Jawahir, also called Sharkie, had spent two days in the witness box. During re-examination by State prosecutor Wayne Rajbansie yesterday, he said the reason for not telling the police all he knew was because he learnt that a body was found in the burnt car and that they would have thought he was involved in the man’s death,  if he had said anything. He said: “I was scared so I left it out.”

Leslie, his cousin Arnold Huggins and friend Junior Phillip are before Justice Alice York Soo-Hon  in the Port-of-Spain Third Criminal Court charged with the February 20, 1996, — Carnival Tuesday, murder of Clint Higgins. They are being represented by Obsourne Charles SC, Keith Scotland, Ian Stuart Brook, Christilyn Moore and Dawn Mohan.  Also prosecuting with Rajbansie is Natasha George. Clint was the key State witness in the murder trial against Dole Chadee and his gang for murder. When hearing resumes today, attorneys are expected to continue legal submissions on a certain issue.