Jealousy was murder motive, Crown says

Jealousy over a girlfriend led to the murder of Damion Omar Ming in West Bay in 2010, a jury was told this week.  

Raziel Omar Jeffers, whose trial began Tuesday, pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr. Ming on the night of March 25, 2010.  

According to Crown counsel, the defendant was jealous because, during a temporary separation, the young woman he was in a relationship with had begun spending time with Mr. Ming.  

By Tuesday, a jury panel of seven men and five women was chosen after approximately 60 names were called.  

After Jeffers was put in the jury’s charge, senior counsel for the prosecution, Andrew Radcliffe, began by explaining the Crown’s case. He emphasized that what he said was not evidence, but an outline of what Crown witnesses would say when they gave their evidence. 

Mr. Radcliffe said a group of men were working on a boat in a yard off Birch Tree Hill Road, and Mr. Ming was at the back of the boat. Jeffers opened fire at close range, killing him, and then left on a bicycle. A report of gunshots was received by 911 at 9:43 p.m. 

Officers arrived by 9:50 p.m., and the men were still working on the boat because it hadn’t been appreciated that someone was shot. The boat was on a trailer, and when one of the officers looked underneath, he saw someone lying there. He recognized Mr. Ming and checked for signs of life but found none. Mr. Ming was transported by ambulance to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.  

Mr. Radcliffe said jurors would hear medical evidence that Mr. Ming died of gunshot wounds to the chest – one bullet hitting him from the front and one hitting him from the back. One of the bullets went through his heart, but he would have been able to walk or crawl before being overcome; it appeared he had crawled under the boat after being wounded. 

Casings collected at the scene were examined by an expert who concluded that they were 9mm and fired by the same gun. 

One of the men working on the boat, Tyrone Burrell, gave police a statement about the incident before he himself was fatally shot in September that year. Mr. Radcliffe said the statement will be read into evidence. (In September 2011, Leonard Antonio Ebanks was convicted of murdering Mr. Burrell.) 

Mr. Radcliffe indicated jurors would also hear evidence that, before Mr. Ming was shot, Jeffers had referred to him as his enemy. Jeffers was known to associate with individuals from the Birch Tree Hill area, while Mr. Ming associated with individuals from the Logwood area, and there was ongoing hostility.  

In May 2010, Jeffers was arrested on a relatively minor matter not connected with this case. It was while he was in custody for that incident that his girlfriend told police what she knew about Jeffers’ movements on the night of the shooting and his “proud boasts” of murdering Mr. Ming. 

She described the circumstances under which Jeffers had confessed to her with details of the shooting. Mr. Radcliffe said she could not have known these things unless they came from the gunman. 

She also could not possibly have known that evidence from a mobile phone would confirm what she said Jeffers had told her about his movements, the prosecutor said. 

He provided jurors with bundles that included cellphone records, maps and photos of the crime scene. He was assisted by Senior Crown Counsel Tricia Hutchinson. 

Jeffers is represented by Michael Wolkind, a senor defense counsel from the U.K., and attorney Fiona Robertson. 

The Crown called its first witness Wednesday morning.