Zephrine Charles Appellant v The Queen Respondent [ECSC]
| Jurisdiction | Grenada |
| Judge | CECIL LEWIS, C.J.(Ag.),Acting Chief Justice |
| Judgment Date | 22 January 1974 |
| Judgment citation (vLex) | [1974] ECSC J0122-1 |
| Date | 22 January 1974 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Grenada) |
| Docket Number | Criminal Appeal No. 6/1973 |
IN THE CORUT OF APPEAL
The Honourable the Acting Chief Justice
The Honourable Mr. Justice St. Bernard
The Honourable Mr. Justice Peterkin (acting)
Criminal Appeal No. 6/1973
E. Heyliger for the appellant
D. Lambert (Director of Public Prosecutions) for the Crown
The judgment of the Court was delivered by CECIL LEWIS, C.J.(Ag.)
The appellant, a member of the Grenada Police Force was convicted on October 31, 1973, of the murder of Jeremiah Richardson and sentenced to death. He has now appealed against his conviction.
The facts relating to this appeal disclose that on April 20, 1973, at about 10.30 p.m. Police Constable Cyril Gordon who was on duty at the Grenville Police Station received a telephone call from P.C. James No. 299 informing him that some men were fighting with some policemen near one Mr. Bhola shop at Grenville. P.C. Gordon informed the three policemen who were on duty at the station of the telephone call and they left the station for Mr. Bhola's shop which is on Jubilee Street in Grenville. The three policemen in question were P.C. Lennox Roberts, Detective constable No. 189 James and P.C. Gittens. On their way to Jubilee Street they passed through the yard of the annex to the police station where theywere joined by the appellant. The policemen proceeded to Jubilee Street by different routes. According to P.C. Roberts he and the appellant passed through George Fifth Street to get to Jubilee Street and when they got there they met a crowd of persons. At this time the appellant was about 40 feet in front P.C. Roberts. P.C. Roberts said that when he was about 50 feet from the crowd he "saw persons in the crowd went in diving motion — as though someone wants to pick up something on the ground". He saw the appellant holding a young man while he was passing and as his back was turned away from the appellant he heard an explosion which sounded like that of a firearm. P.C. Roberts ran away from the crowd and when he got to Mr. Bhola's shop he held a young man and spoke to him and after he had finished speaking to him he let him go. While there, he heard a second explosion about two minutes after the first, and on looking back he saw people running in different directions. He returned to the station with P.C. Gittens and P.C. James. A quarter of an hour later he again left the station and went back to Jubilee Street where he noticed a young man lying in front of Rita's Restaurant. Blood was coming from his head. He did not recognise the man who appeared to be dead. He left and went back to the station.
The evidence of P.C. Dennis James is substantially to the same effect as that of P.C. Roberts. He too saw the crowd. It consisted of 20 boys near Mr. Bhola's shop and they were going in the direction of the Grenville Cinema. Suddenly, the men in the crowd began to run in different directions and he saw when one of them threw a stone at P.C. Gittens who ducked it and gave chase as the man ran away. He then heard two explosions "like a gun" and there was a three minute interval between the two explosions. He walked up to Jubilee Street with other policemen and when he got to Rita's Restaurant he saw a man lying in front of the restaurant. He was lying in blood and appeared to be dead. He returned to the Grenville Police StationStation and left again between 11 or 11:30 p.m. with Inspector Belmar and went to Pearls Airport where they met Police Constables Mignon and Granger. He said that Inspector Belmar inspected the .38 revolver which Granger had. He also stated that P.C. Mignon did not have a revolver.
P.C. Gittens also testified to the fact that on reaching the junction of Jubilee and Sendall Streets he saw a crowd of about 20 persons on Jubilee Street and a man from the crowd threw a stone at him, that he ducked and chased the man who ran away. While chasing this man he heard two explosions which sounded like the explosion of a gun, and heard bottles and stones falling on the road at the junction of Sendall and Jubilee Streets. He then returned to the station. About ten minutes later he left the station and returned to Jubilee Street where he saw a man lying in front of Rita's restaurant, he observed blood flowing from one of his ears and he appeared to be dead. He and other policemen took up the body and carried it to the Princess Alice Hospital mortuary.
One Felicity Chitan who lives in a house overlooking Mr. Bhola's supermarket in the vicinity of which the dead man was found does not assist the Crown case to any material extent. She said that she heard three gun shots, she looked out of a window and saw two persons—one ten rods from her and the other 16 rods away. Of these two persons one was tall and the other short and the short one was holding on to the taller one. She left her house and went into Jubilee Street near to one Miss Rita shop where she saw a young man lying on the pavement in front of a shop.
Then there is the evidence of the witness Lennie Lewis. Hie evidence was to the effect that he had gone to the cinema at 8:30 p.m. and had left at 11 o'clock to go home. On his way home someone pelted a piece of wood at him. He went back to the cinema and on his way there he saw a crowd of men running towards him. These persons came from the direction of the Public Works Department.
His evidence continues as follows:
"… I hear two bullets fire. The boys and them start to run. I spoke. The bullets fire from the men and them who was coming towards us. I made out one of the men. I don't know him by name but I could point him out right now—I see him in court (P.C. James, witness identified).
When they meet us they walk up by the boys that run in front of the shop. The boys who run in front of the shop were Jeremiah, Anselm, Alson, Elijah. I hear a bullet go off. In front of the shop. Besides the boys in front of the shop, they had a man. I couldn't see the man face he was giving me his back. I was about 3–4 rods from the man. I see Jeremiah was dragging down on the door on his back. The man hand was at his collar. Jeremiah collar. The man leave and he run. I was standing in the midst of two policemen—P.C. James pointed at—This man was one. He spoke to me. We move off. We was going to the station. We did not reach the police station. On the way I see that man—(P.C. James pointed out) speak to the next policeman. They walk about half rod. They then spoke to me. I left. 1 go back where Jeremiah was dragging on the door. He was lying on the concrete on the ground. I saw blood under his head. He didn't say anything and when I go back he didn't move. I heard the gun go off in front of the shop where the man was holding Jeremiah by his collar. There were lights. A light by Mr. Bhola shop at the junction. One in front Mr. Chitan shop. Street light. A big bulb. Yes electric."
"….I did not point out the policeman yesterday who fired the two shots. The policeman I pointed out was one in the crowd from which the bullets came. The crowd began to run when the bullets were fired. No Sir I was not annoyed that they were running. Yes Sir I told them not to run. No Sir I did not run. No Sir I was not annoyed with the police. No Sir I did not bounce any policeman. Yes Sir later on two policemen held me. Yes Sir I made a statement to the police that night. I never said that I saw Lydon Mignon shoot Jeremiah. Yes Sir I said he held him and cornered him on a wall with a gun in his hand. I heard the gun went off. I did not say I saw Jeremiah was drifting until he fell on the ground. I said dragging.
Yes Sir I made this report to the officer who was on diary duty. Yes Sir he wrote it down in the diary."
"… I tell the policeman that if Jeremiah dead I know who shoot him. When I said "he held him" I meant the man. I did not know the man."
On page 97 of the record in answer to the jury he said —
… I signed the statement which was written down in the diary. Yes Sir the statement was read over to me before I signed it. I knew the accused by face. I know Lydon Mignon by name and by face. The man who shoot Jeremiah was giving me his back.
When I said "I know who shoot him" I meant I see the man that was holding Jeremiah."
In answer to counsel for the accused this witness said —
"I told the police: I saw some people running, some towards me and some from behind me. I can remember there was a group of us numbering about six to seven walking up in just a casual manner. When they come close to us I saw Lydon a policeman. He fired a bullet up in the air and said Stand up. He walked up to Jeremiah Richardson of Paradise and he hold him in front of his shirt with a gun in his hand. I knew it was a gun because I heard it fired and I heard it go off. The bullet fired. I saw Jeremiah Richardson was going down his back was dragging against the wall of the shop where Lydon held him."
I just know the policeman by Lydon. I don't know his other name."
The witness Lennie Lewis proved to be a most unsatisfactory witness and his evidence was rather evasive. It is therefore not surprising that the trial judge told the jury that he considered it his duty to direct them that very little weight should be given to his testimony. At one stage in his evidence he seemed to suggest that P.C. Mignon had shot the man Jeremiah Richardson, but later on he said "I never said that I saw Lydon Mignon shoot Jeremiah."
Inspector Belmar later that night read the statement in the station diary which Lennie Lewis had made and as a result he went to Pearls Airport where he met Police Constables Mignon and Granger. He inspected the .38 service revolver which P.C. Mignon had with him and found that it contained six rounds of live amunition and he stated...
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