Trial of Cop Accused of Orchestrating Colleague’s Murder Delayed

KINGSTON, Jamaica – The trial of a police constable accused of orchestrating the 2016 murder of his female colleague has been delayed after insufficient jurors were available in the Home Circuit Court last week.

Constable Gladstone Williams, along with two alleged gunmen, Rohan Smith and Jessie ‘Pops’ Anderson, were remanded by Justice Leighton Pusey and will return to court on March 10.

Corporal Judith Williams was fatally shot six times on April 28, 2016, at a bus stop on Braes Street in Dunkirk, East Kingston.
The trial was further hampered by the prosecution’s failure to finalize the indictment, which includes the names of witnesses. The court heard that new witnesses were to be added, while others were to be removed.

Justice Pusey subsequently scheduled a trial readiness hearing for January 27 to receive an update on the indictment’s completion.

Defense attorney, KC Peter Champagnie, representing Constable Williams, expressed strong disapproval of the delays and the prosecution’s apparent lack of preparedness. Champagnie emphasized the unacceptability of these delays after eight years of extensive case management.

Constable Williams is suspected of orchestrating the murder after a dispute arose over a car he allegedly sold without permission, which Corporal Williams had entrusted to him for repairs.

Smith is represented by attorney-at-law CJ Mitchell, while Leroy Equiano represents Anderson.