Witness details mental condition of men in shared cell
SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — A man who was in a nearby cell at the time of Mario Deane’s death described in gory detail to the Westmoreland Circuit Court, Monday, unsettling behaviour of three other prisoners who shared Deane’s cell. He also identified the three cops on trial as the ones on cell monitoring duty the morning of August 3, 2014.
That is the day on which Deane was reportedly fatally beaten in cell four of the lock-up at Barnett Street Police Station in St James.
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The three accused are District Constable Marlon Grant, Corporal Elaine Stewart, and Constable Juliana Clevon, who are all charged with manslaughter and misconduct in a public office.
The man, who was convicted of a crime and is the Crown’s eighth witness to take the stand during the trial, said he knew at least one of the men who shared a cell with Deane. He gave that man’s full name, but only provided an alias — Crocodile — for another. The witness said Crocodile, who was deaf and could not speak, was given the name because of the sounds he would make.
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Deane, who was arrested for possession of a ganja spliff, was placed in a cell that also held Adrian Morgan, Marvin Orr, and Damion Cargill. All three were charged in connection with his death. Morgan and Orr pleaded guilty to manslaughter and were sentenced to time served in custody, while Cargill, who is deaf and mute, was deemed unfit to plead.
During his testimony in chief, the witness gave a graphic description of troubling behaviour he saw exhibited by three of the men whom he theorised had mental issues.
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The witness, whose name has been withheld in accordance with the court’s directive, also provided the surname of another inmate. There was a fourth man, but he said he did not recall his name.
During his testimony Monday, the witness also pointed out the three cops sitting in the prisoners’ dock who were on duty the morning of the day on which Deane was beaten. He said the three cops would check on the cells in the station cell block.
“On August 3 did you see them [three cops] after exercising [in his cell that was nearby the one containing Deane],” the Crown asked the witness who is a fitness trainer.
“Having seen the officers, which officers did you see on August 3,” the Crown continued with the line of questioning.
The witness replied, “She — Ms Stewart, Short Man, and Indian,” adding that this was sometime between 7:00 am and 8:00 am.
The witness also pointed out Stewart as the woman sitting in the prisoners’ dock in a red-and-white top.
While he did not call the names of Grant — who was sitting in the prisoners’ dock in a black shirt — and Clevon, who was sitting behind Grant in the prisoner’s dock, he did provide their aliases. He referred to Grant as Short Man and Clevon as Indian. He said this was how he had heard their colleagues refer to them.
The allegations in the case are that Deane was arrested for possession of a ganja spliff and placed in custody, where he was brutally beaten on August 3, 2014. He sustained severe injuries to his brain which left him in a coma. He died three days later at Cornwall Regional Hospital in St James.
It is alleged that the three cops were on duty at the police station when Deane was beaten. It is further alleged that Stewart, who has an additional charge of perverting the course of justice, instructed that the cell in which the attack took place be cleaned before the arrival of investigators from the Independent Commission of Investigations.
The trial continues at 9:00 am today, with the witness continuing his testimony.
