Witness: No pass ended in death

An accusation that Ako Lewis was not passing the ball to Alvin Celestine during a football match is what fuelled a bloody confrontation between the two men that led to Celestine’s death. This revelation came from Alvin Morraine, a player in the game who witnessed the violent altercation between Lewis and Celestine on Vessigny Beach on August 19 2003. Lewis, 18, is on trial before Justice Alice Yorke Soo Hon and a 12-member mixed jury in the San Fernando Second Criminal Assizes. Yesterday, Morraine, a cousin of both the accused and the deceased, told the jury that during the  match around 5.30 pm, Celestine and Lewis were on the same team, when Celestine began to argue. Morraine said Celestine told Lewis, “Pass the f...ing ball,” to which Lewis replied, “I not passing the f...ing ball.” Morraine, also known as Junior, said Celestine pushed Lewis, then slapped him in his face. The two men began to scramble with each other and Celestine ran to pick up a big stone, Morraine said. Morraine recalled that he tried to pacify Celestine, and “bat” the stone out of his hand.

The witness said he and Lewis walked out of the carpark and Celestine walked down to the beach. Moments later, he saw Celestine charging towards them with a cutlass. Morraine said Lewis picked up a bottle and a piece of iron. Morraine said he again tried to pacify Celestine, with whom he had a close relationship, but he stepped aside when Celestine began to threaten him. Morraine told the court; “He came down running. He (Celestine) said, ‘The demon now fly up in my head. Junior boy if you try to stop me boy I go chop yuh.’” Morraine said as Celestine began firing chops, Lewis hit Celestine on his head with the piece of pipe. Under cross-examination from defence counsel Ian Gray, Morraine said even as Celestine sunk to his knees with the blows to his head, he was trying to get back up. “I didn’t want them fellas to fight,” Morraine told the court. “I tried to stop them the best I could.” The case continues today.