World Boss Vybz Kartel will be spending another Christmas in jail.
As the trial restarted this past monday, last week the judge already indicated that the murder trial will go into the new year.
After more than 4 weeks of trial there’s still no verdict for Vybz Kartel and his four co-accused. There will be no open court evidence in the murder trial of Adidja Azim Vybz Kartel Palmer until next Thursday, when jurors will return to the Home Circuit Court to continue hearing evidence in the matter.
Yesterday, a trial within trial to determine what aspect of evidence from Sgt Patrick Linton — the former head of the Cyber crimes Unit is admissible — continued outside the presence of the jurors.
Last friday was the turn an expert from telecoms Digicel to take the witness stand. He testified that he was unable to say whether text messages recovered by the police were sent from devices owned by Vybz Kartel or his co-accused.
Mario Ghantous Assaad, Digicel’s group chief technology officer, testified under cross-examination in the Home Circuit Court that it was possible for a SIM card to be cloned. Under questioning from attorney Michael Lorne, Assaad said that it was possible for a mobile phone’s unique identification number to be hacked and for a phone call to be placed or a message sent from a cloned mobile phone, making it appear as if the original owner of the phone number was placing the call or sending the message.
Due to these factors, Assaad said he was unable to say if messages reportedly recovered from Digicel’s system were actually sent from the original devices which the police are alleging were confiscated from Vybz Kartel and his co-accused.
LISTEN TO VYBZ KARTEL “HI” ( HIGH) HEAD CONCUSION RECORDS TOP DANCEHALL HIT SONG 2013
Responding to a question from Vybz Kartel’s attorney Chris Tavares-Finson, Assaad admitted that Digicel’s system had in the past been compromised. But he said that the system was in proper working order at the time information regarding phone numbers reportedly assigned to the accused were recovered.
The prosecution says it has in its possession several messages allegedly taken from Digicel mobile phones confiscated from the accused men when they were arrested in 2011.
Vybz Kartel (real name Adidja Azim Palmer), Shawn ‘Shawn Storm’ Campbell, Shane Williams, Andre St John, and Kahira Jones are being tried for murder in the alleged beating death of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams on August 16, 2011.
