Death car 'Duppy Truck' was a well guarded secret, witness tells court

over 2 years in Jamaica Observer

THE death car nicknamed Duppy Truck, owned and used by the St Catherine-based Klansman gang to carry out shootings and murders, was a well-kept and well-guarded secret weapon, the main witness in the trial involving 33 individuals, accused of being part of that criminal outfit, has said.The Duppy Truck, a stolen grey Nissan Tiida bought from criminals in Lauriston, St Catherine, for $50,000, was assigned to the care of a particular gang member and was kept out of sight in a lane in Buck Town, St Catherine, when it was not being used to transport gangsters involved in shootings and murders.Witness number two, one of two key witnesses which the crown is depending on to clinch its case against the 33 accused members of the Klansman gang now on trial before Chief Justice Bryan Sykes in the Supreme Court in downtown Kingston on Monday, said the vehicle had been so named because "every time it drive out is either a shooting or murder".Yesterday, continuing his evidence, he said the machine, which was used for incidents in and around St Catherine, was so well guarded that it was never allowed into a petrol station."We would buy gas in a bottle and drop it off for the Duppy Truck because they can't carry that car to any gas station because you don't want anybody to see that car," he told the court. He went further to detail how, after a failed hit on three men marked for death by the gang, he was instructed by alleged faction leader Andre "Blackman" Bryan to "pilot" the death car, which was being driven by its assigned driver, back to its hiding spot in Buck Town. He explained that his purpose for driving in front of the vehicle was to "make sure no police take away the car".In the meantime, the witness yesterday claimed that the gang was behind the burning down of at least three stores operated by loan company Torpedo in 2017. He said the decision to burn down the Torpedo outlets in Spanish Town, Linstead, and Old Harbour was taken because the owner "wasn't cooperating ". The individual said plans were made to burn the entities after Bryan received a call from an individual known as Citypuss who complained about the owner."Dem seh dem haffi do something to get his attention. We start planning," Witness Two said, adding that, "nobody objected" to the idea from Citypuss.He told the court that, in the instance with the Spanish Town outlet, the men who allegedly carried out the act, armed with gasoline, broke into the building, threw the gas all over and lit it. He said he saw the building burning when he returned to pick up the men.Meanwhile, yesterday the prosecution's bid to have the witness identify Citypuss for the court failed after one defence attorney objected on the grounds that the Crown did not sufficiently establish the groundwork for the witness to be able to identify that individual in the docks.The Crown's witness, earlier in the sitting, said he had always spoken to Citypuss over the phone but had never seen him until he was incarcerated. He said, at that time, he had not directly interfaced with Citypuss but was able to tell that he was the individual because he heard him speak.According to the witness, Citypuss was unmistakable because of his voice, which he described as "special".He said Citypuss, whom he claimed was in the docks, has "a squeaky type of voice, a funny type of voice. Anywhere you hear that voice [you know it]. It sound different, it has a scariness. He has a unique voice, an evil sound to his voice", the witness said under further questioning from Chief Justice Bryan Sykes. Prosecutors, however, were forced to abandon that line of questioning after the judge noted that the evidence being relied on to establish the identity of the accused said to be Citypuss was "unclear".Meanwhile, the witness, who took the stand for the first time last Wednesday and is the first to be called for the Crown, should conclude giving his evidence today. He has testified that he was a driver and banker for the gang. All monies collected, he claimed, were stashed in his refrigerator and used to "buy gun and gunshot, and pay lawyer fee" as well as buy food, pay for rental cars, and to give to members of the gang, who made their requests for funds through Bryan.The case, which includes the largest number of accused ever to be tried together in a single matter, is being handled by 40 attorneys. The accused are being tried under the Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organisations) (Amendment) Act, commonly called the anti-gang legislation, with several facing additional charges under the Firearms Act for crimes allegedly committed between 2015 and 2019. All 33 accused, who are being tried under an indictment containing 25 counts, when arraigned, pleaded "not guilty" to the charges against them.The offences for which they are being charged include being part of a criminal organisation, murder, conspiracy to murder, arson, illegal possession of firearm, and illegal possession of ammunition. Bryan is charged with, among other things, being the leader of a criminal organisation - Klansman/One Don gang.In 2019, Tesha Miller, leader of the other faction of the gang, was convicted of orchestrating the 2008 murder of then Jamaica Urban Transit Company Chairman Douglas Chambers. Blackman, the alleged hitman then, was acquitted of the killing in 2016.Police say the splintered gang, which has a membership of around 400, has wreaked havoc in the parish of St Catherine and has connections in neighbouring islands and elsewhere overseas.

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