FIVE 'BOBO' Rastafarian men, accused of setting fire to the camp of another group of Rastafarians in Bull Bay, St. Andrew, have been freed of charges of arson after a two-day trial in the Home Circuit Court.
They were freed last week after defence lawyer Lloyd McFarlane made a 'no case' submission at the end of the Crown's case that the identification evidence against the men was very poor. Mr. McFarlane also pointed out discrepancies in the evidence given by the two eyewitness and said their evidence could not be relied on.
Ms. Justice Kay Beckford upheld the submissions and directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty.
FIRE IN THE CAMP
Freed were Michael Mc-Causland, Donovan Ambrusley, Antwine Cooke, John Robertson and Shawn Gentiles, who all wore red turbans to court.
The allegations were that there was a dispute among the 'Bobo dreads' and as a result, some of the members went to live elsewhere. Two witnesses testified that about midnight on September 17, 2001, they noticed that the guard house at their Rastafarian camp known as New Jerusalem in Bull Bay was on fire.
They attempted to extinguish the blaze, and while doing so they were stoned. They said they then noticed that about 30 bundles of thatch, which they had on the compound, were on fire and they saw the five accused setting the thatch on fire. They also testified that when the guard house was on fire they saw two of the accused men leaving from the direction of the guard house.
Cross-examined, the witnesses said they identified the men from the light coming from the blazing thatch.
