Murder accused changes his story

WHILE under cross-examination, a Petit Valley man on trial for murder, yesterday gave a partially different account of the fatal shooting incident from what was contained in his evidence-in-chief. When 27-year-old Aaron Ali took the witness stand at the Port-of-Spain Fourth Criminal Court to give evidence he was very brief. He said his side of the story was contained in the statement he had given to Sgt Anthony Lezama. The statement was read to the court on January 12. Ali is before Justice Anthony Carmona charged with the murder of Marlon “Fygee” John.

According to that statement, on the morning of July 2 2002, Ali was involved in a fight with three men at Roots Corner, Morne Coco Road, Petit Valley. He subsequently went home for a home-made shotgun, but managed to avoid any further encounter with the men. Later that same day, the statement said, Ali had a verbal altercation with the deceased, who had  attacked him with a knife. The statement said the accused ran, reached for a gun in a box he was carrying, turned around, pointed the gun at John and said, “Soldier don’t make me have to do this.”

John persisted with his attack, the gun accidently went off, John clutched his chest and fell to the ground. He denied State attorney Kathy-Ann Waterman-Latchoo’s suggestion that John had not attacked him and insisted he had never told Lezama that he had pointed the gun at John and shot him in the chest.  He admitted that the account of the incident he had given at the Magistrates’ Court was different from the one he gave yesterday and maintained that he was in a sitting position when John was shot. Hearing resumes today.