Judge: Prosecutor 'paid ultimate price' for service to Trinidad and Tobago

JUSTICE Carla Brown-Antoine says special prosecutor Randall Hector paid the ultimate price for serving for his country, while president of the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago (LATT) Lynette Seebaran-Suite has called for justice for his death.

The two made the comments while speaking at Hector’s funeral at the University of the Southern Caribbean’s main hall, in Maracas, St Joseph on January 9.

Hector was brutally gunned down in front of his wife and two children on New Year’s Eve moments after leaving the Stanmore Avenue Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Port of Spain after delivering a sermon.

Police have dismissed conspiracy claims that his murder was linked to his previous role as a legal adviser with the Strategic Services Agency.

Instead they have labelled his murder as gang-related.

As recently as September, Hector was involved in the prosecution of cases against alleged gang members.

Hector was remembered as a passionate man whose dedication to his family and love for God shone through everything he did.

Addressing a packed hall filled with legal luminaries, former president Anthony Carmona and Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard, Brown-Antoine also described Hector as a trailblazing, charismatic prosecutor who established a number of legal firsts and rarely lost a case.

"If there was an argument to be made, he would make it, and always backed with evidence and authorities.

“He had that charisma that made his fellow citizens listen, think and accept the evidence he had led on behalf of the State.”

Brown-Antoine portrayed him as a dedicated public servant who always did his best in every task he undertook.

“He was polite and respectful to everyone. He was also brave and fearless. He was passionate about his work and it showed. He served his country with distinction, honour and dedication, and he paid the ultimate price.”

Seebaran-Suite said Hector was a man always in pursuit of the truth, regardless of the outcome.

“He approached each case with compassion, integrity and a steady resolve to do what was right. His legal acumen and ethical standards set a benchmark for us aspiring attorneys and earned him the respect of his peers and adversaries alike.”

She said his life, while short, was impactful and embodied the strength and resilience needed in society.

She added his efforts always to seek justice should be repaid by ensuring his family also gets justice for his death.

“In the face of the type of brutal, disrespectful life into which our society has descended, we cannot let his legacy be razed by the elements that are set on destroying our nation with heinousness and complete disregard for the sanctity of life.

"We need as a society to stand with his family, to fight to do what is right and to ensure that there is justice for a man who stood for justice.”

Speaking with the media after the funeral, Seebaran-Suite said she hoped the authorities could find the political will to deal with the scourge of gang violence plaguing the country.

“We hope that the declaration of a state of emergency is one step in that direction and that we continue to have the political will and the fortitude that all of our institutions will pull together to continue this campaign.”

She added the political will must, though, be accompanied by tangible actions and the allocation of requisite resources.

“It is incumbent upon the powers that be to provide the resources to the agencies who would have to be involved, such as the first instance, of course, the police and all of the different arms of the administration of justice, the office of the DPP, the public defender's office, the magistrates courts, the judiciary and the higher judiciary.”

Pastor Leslie Moses, during a spirited sermon, also called for justice, but said he believed Hector’s assassins would encounter justice of a different nature.

Recounting a conversation with one of Hector’s friends, Moses said he knew there was a thirst for justice but warned the public against taking justice into their own hands.

“Somebody said to me recently, ‘Pastor, if only I knew who shot Randall I would take my firearm and I would take him out.’ And I said to my brother, ‘That is not how God would want it.’

Moses then asked, "How many of you will like to see those assassins killed immediately, without a trial, if they are caught?"

As some hands shot up and others raised theirs hesitantly, Moses acknowledged their pain but urged, "Please don't put up your hands."

Noting Hector's was one of 625 murders last year, he warned the criminals they would not escape justice.

“While the criminals think they will get away scot-free with what they are doing, there is a Lord who sees all and knows all and God said, ‘Justice is mine, vengeance is mine and I will repay.’

“I’m not scared about those assassins and whether the TTPS will find them. I know that my god will find them and he will deal with them in his own way and at his own time.”

Moses said he continued to hope criminals and gang-leaders would put down their guns.

“I probably live in a different world and all the attorneys here are probably saying, ‘What stupidness he talking?' but I still long for when all the assassins will say, ‘Here is my gun,’ and they lay it down.

“So I call on assassins and gang leaders lay down your guns. Chill out, chillax and let peace reign in our beloved country.”

Moses added it is up to citizens to fix the country, adding it will continue to crumble unless people “get serious with God” and do the right thing.

“We are peace-loving people who know how to pray and can make a big difference.

“The hope in this country for it to get better is not really more guns in the hands of the police, or more police intelligence. It is not even about (judges) doing more (cases). It is about we, the citizens. We have to do something about our beloved TT.”