Raziel confessed, witness tells court

A young woman who was in a relationship with Raziel Jeffers told the court Tuesday he confessed to her that he shot Marcus Leon Ebanks, but it was by mistake. 

Megan Martinez said she had a child with Jeffers in March 2009 and they were living together on 8 July, 2009, when a shooting occurred on Bonaventure Road that left Marcus dead, Adryan Powell paralysed and Rodney Ebanks with a leg injury. Jeffers is on trial for Marcus’ murder plus four counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of an unlicensed firearm. 

Ms Martinez said her relationship with Jeffers ended in May 2010. She recalled a conversation she said they had around the end of March 2010 or toward the middle of that month. It was after 4-year-old Jeremiah Barnes had been killed [in February 2010, by a bullet while in the back seat of a car driven by his father]. “We were talking about innocent people whose lives were lost in this war,” she said. “I brought up Jeremiah and he responded, ‘That’s just like poor Marcus.’” 

She said Jeffers commented that Marcus wasn’t meant to die, either – it was Peto, a reference to José Sanchez, one of the men in the yard when the shooting occurred. Ms Martinez said Jeffers told her it was dark and he swore it was Peto when he zeroed in on him. 

Prosecutor Andrew Radcliffe asked if Jeffers said what he did when he zeroed in. “Fired,” she replied. 

Asked if Jeffers said what happened to Marcus, she said he fell. She continued, “He never realised it was not the right person till he heard the news the next day.” She said Jeffers told her that the two “favoured – looked alike in size and stuff.” 

After the lunch break, Mr. Radcliffe referred to this reported conversation again. Ms Martinez repeated what she said Jeffers told her about Marcus: ”He wasn’t supposed to die: I thought it was Peto.” 

She said she let him carry on talking. He told her he ran into the yard and Osbourne [referring to a second gunman] stood further back, nearest the bush. Jeffers said he wasn’t sure whose bullet hit the boy who was paralysed and he wasn’t sure whose bullet hit Rodney, but Marcus he zeroed in on, assuming it was Peto and he felt really bad. 

Mr. Radcliffe asked, “Did he say he shot Marcus?” She replied, “Yes.” 

“Did he say why he wanted to shoot José?” She said yes again, quoting “You have to kill or be killed.”  

She said the only trouble she knew between them was an altercation outside a bar when “Peto was beat up pretty bad.” 

She said she asked Jeffers, “Why are you telling me this?” and he went quiet. Asked if he ever said it again, she told the court he said it once and did not repeat it. He did say, “Oh, those poor boys.” 

Defence attorney Peter Champagnie began questioning Ms Martinez, but had not finished by the end of Tuesday. She accepted that she had told no fewer than eight lies in her first statement to police, three days after the shooting. Mr. Champagnie compared her statements of 11 July, 2009, and 13 May, 2010. He suggested she was an untruthful witness. 

Justice Charles Quin, who is hearing the matter without a jury, pointed out there is a difference between a mistake and a lie. 

Ms Martinez said the events she described did take place, but the date was incorrect.  

She accepted that she had made 11 statements to police.  

Questioning was scheduled to continue on Wednesday. 

Earlier in her evidence, Ms Martinez told the court that on the day of the shooting, Jeffers left their apartment and returned later with someone she knew as Osbourne or Ozzie, but she knew nothing about him. She said the men talked outside and then Jeffers told her he was going to drop Ozzie in “Stratton” in central George Town and then he had to go fishing.  

There was a gang war going on, she said. Fishing “is when you go and hunt your enemies,” she said. She also described several guns she said she saw Jeffers with. Guns were all over, but the majority Jeffers had access to were from in Stratton, from what she gathered.