Cop goes on trial for 2005 St Barb's murder

A POLICE officer who was charged with shooting dead a Laventille man in 2007 is facing only a judge as he goes on trial again.

Anthony Sylvester’s murder trial got going virtually before Justice Hayden St Clair-Douglas on Monday.

He is charged with the murder of Sheldon des Vignes, who was killed in the afternoon of November 9, 2005, at Upper St Barb's, Laventille.

This is Sylvester’s second trial. His first, in 2019, ended with a hung jury unable to determine his innocence or guilt.

It is alleged that on the day in question, des Vignes and some others were sitting in a shed playing a game of cards.

During that same time, Sylvester and some other officers were on patrol in the area. While there, they noticed another man, Richie Gloster, wearing camouflage pants and told him to remove them, since wearing such clothing was illegal.

However, he refused and instead assaulted the officer before running off in the direction of where des Vignes and others were sitting. Sylvester allegedly started shooting at Gloster but a bullet instead struck des Vignes.

At the start of the virtual trial, prosecutor Indira Chinebas said the State would not be making an opening statement.

She immediately tendered into evidence the formal admissions of the police’s draughtsman, who provided a sketch of the crime scene, and photographs taken by the police photographer. The evidence of the two police officers were tendered without their having to give evidence in person.

Called to testify in person, which she did from the Judiciary’s virtual access centre, was Natasha Jessop, a cousin-in-law of des Vignes.

She said November 9, 2005, was Divali and she and several others, including des Vignes, were in the yard, under the shed, liming and playing a game of all-fours. She said around noon, there was a little ruction on the road.

With the aid of the police photographs, she pointed out several areas and said she saw when des Vignes was shot. She said he held his head and fell down and she saw smoke coming from Sylvester’s gun.

She was asked to do a “dock-identification” of Sylvester, pointing him out after asking for him to remove his face mask.

Sylvester is remanded at the Maximum Security prison and was at one of the prison facility’s virtual courts.

Jessop testified that when Sylvester saw everyone crowding around des Vignes’s body, he told everyone to move, but no one did. Soon after, the police removed des Vignes’s body.

In cross-examination by one of Sylvester’s attorneys, Ulric Skerritt, she insisted that no one ran when the police officer entered the yard.

She also said “everyone” was there when des Vignes was shot, rejecting the assertion by the attorney that no one was in the area at the time.

“We all was (sic) there,” she said.

Skerritt also claimed Sylvester was chasing after some men wearing camouflage clothing, tripped and fell, but Jessop denied this.

She also denied that when Sylvester got up and retrieved his gun, he saw des Vignes pointing a gun at him.

"That is a lie," she insisted repeatedly, also denying that Sylvester told des Vignes to drop the gun.

She also said that before the police put des Vignes’s body in the car, two shots were fired so that the friends and family who were in the yard would not crowd around. Questioned by Skerritt why she previously said Sylvester fired at the crowd and not in the air, she said, “If he fired at the crowd, more people would have died that day."

During her testimony, Jessop broke down in tears.

She insisted she was a witness to the killing.

“Sir, I was there and what I said is the truth.”

Also tendered into evidence was the statement of Jacqueline des Vignes, a cousin. In her statement, she said she heard a gunshot and ran to the shed. She saw her cousin on the ground with dollar bills in his hand. She said a police officer told her an officer to get back inside, while others were frantically making calls on their cellphones. She said she saw them put des Vignes into the police vehicle.

She also said she made a report at the Besson Street police station that the officer had shot him at close range.

The trial continues on Tuesday.

Also appearing for the State is prosecutor Ambay Ramkhelawan. Sylvester’s legal team is led by Senior Counsel Israel Khan.