Vendor on trial for Petit Valley murder

AARON ALI, a 27-year-old vegetable vendor, went on trial yesterday for shooting to death a fellow villager in Petit Valley two and a half years ago. Ali, who lived at Morne Coco Road in Petit Valley, is before Justice Anthony Carmona in the Port-of-Spain Fourth Criminal Court charged with the murder of Marlon John on June 28, 2002 at Petit Valley. John, a labourer, was 27 years old at the time. State attorney Kathy-Ann Waterman-Latchoo is prosecuting, while Nathaniel King and Ryan Cameron represent the accused. In opening the case to the jury yesterday, Waterman-Latchoo said Ali was at Pat’s Cafe at Roots Corner, Morne Coco Road, when he had an argument with Shawn Jules. Ali left and returned with a home-made shotgun and said, “boy, I will kill all yuh fellas.”

Ali returned with the gun in a cardboard box. Two men, Marlon John and Chester Williams, approached Ali. John spoke to Ali who walked away. John followed the accused who turned around and shot John in the chest. According to the prosecutor, Williams was the only eyewitness to the shooting. Terrence Corbin also saw Ali with the gun and John bleeding. He assisted in taking John to the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital. In her opening, Waterman-Latchoo said Williams, Jules, and Corbin all have criminal convictions. Williams was described as a deportee from the United States with two convictions there for possession of cocaine and another for unlawful possession of a firearm. Jules and Corbin have convictions for marijuana possession.

Forensic tests showed that Ali had marijuana in his blood. After John was shot in the chest, Ali ran away, cut off his dread locks and threw away the gun and his jacket. He then went to his godfather Andre Neptune where he said that it was John who had the gun. Ali said while they were struggling, the gun went off. Neptune went to the police who came on the scene and met Ali. The accused told the police a different story. He said he was attacked by John and while running away, he tripped and fell and the gun went off. Ali told the investigating officer, Sgt Anthony Lezama, that while running away from John, he cocked the gun which flew out of his hand and went off. Ali gave a statement to the police in his own handwriting. He also showed the police where he threw the gun, jacket and dreadlocks, but the gun was not recovered. Hearing resumes this morning.