Witness: Man shot dead by cop had no gun

SHELDON des Vignes had no gun pointing at anyone, one of the State’s main witnesses said in testimony in the virtual judge-only trial of the police officer who is charged with his murder in 2007.

Anthony Sylvester is before Justice Hayden St Clair-Douglas charged with the murder of des Vignes, who was killed on the afternoon of November 9, 20075, 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.

At the same time, Sylvester and 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.

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 the bullet instead struck des Vignes.

Gloster, whose real name is Ridge, but said he is called Richie, admitted he had on camouflage short pants and des Vignes had on a camouflage vest.

He insisted des Vignes had no gun.

“He didn’t have no (sic) gun and I sure about that,” he said in response to Sylvester’s attorneys Israel Khan, SC, and Ulric Skerritt, who both questioned him.

However, Gloster admitted he did not see Sylvester shoot des Vignes.

“I heard shots. I saw the gun in he (Sylvester’s) hand. I didn’t see the strapping officer shoot anybody. I heard the shot.”

Gloster said in a statement to police he was “roughed up in the road” by the police and told the officer who was “lashing him” he would take off the pants.

“I tell him I go take it off but he eh give me chance,” he told police, adding that the officer then gave a colleague his “big gun” and walked into the yard where the group of relatives were playing cards.

“And then I heard a shot.”

There was some discrepancy between his statement and his testimony about the shots he said he heard. In the statement, he allegedly told police it was before the officer walked into the yard, while in his testimony on Tuesday, he said, “The shots was (sic) after.”

Also testifying on Tuesday was Gail Ann des Vignes, another cousin, who allegedly witnessed the shooting.

State attorneys Indira Chinebas and Ambay Ramkhelawan are prosecuting. The trial continues.