News

Daraine Luton, Senior Staff Reporter

PROSECUTORS yesterday secured the conviction of a policeman and two of his accomplices who held up and robbed returning residents at gunpoint.

Constable Horace Roberts, Robert Hurd and Richard Ewart were convicted on multiple counts of robbery with aggravation and illegal possession of firearm and ammunition in the Gun Court.

The men are to appear before Justice Courtney Day, who has the latitude to put them away for life, for sentencing today.

Crown Counsel Lisa Palmer-Hamilton, who led evidence against the men, said it was a very difficult case to prosecute but hailed police and fellow counsel in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for their roles in the conviction.

"It was a challenging case to investigate, a very challenging case to coordinate but, because of the efforts of the officers in the individual parishes, especially the officers who spearheaded the final investigation - Superintendent Cornwall 'Bigga' Ford and Detective Sergeant Glenford Buckle, we were able to secure the conviction," Palmer-Hamilton told The Gleaner .

Roberts was convicted on 19 of the 32 counts brought against him. Hurd was convicted on 11 counts and Ewart on 10 counts.

Investigators alleged that Roberts engineered a series of armed robberies of returning residents in several parishes across the country from 2005 to 2006.

The returning residents were trailed from the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston and robbed at gunpoint at their gates.

Charges withdrawn

Initially, the men were charged with 48 counts each but the Crown later withdrew some of the charges.

Palmer-Hamilton, who called more than 30 witness, including an 83-year-old woman and a victim as far away as France, said the verdict would come as a relief to the victims. She also commended Day for his handling of the case.

Peter Champagnie, counsel who represented Roberts and Ewart, told The Gleaner he would await the sentence today to determine the next step for his clients.

Meanwhile, Percival La Touche, head of the Association for the Resettlement of Returning Residents, was elated with the verdict.

"I welcome that long-awaited decision. It has been four years and two months of sufferation by the victims," La Touche told The Gleaner .

Counsel Vaughn Smith, Pearnel Charles Jr, Dale Palmer and Chester Crooks assisted with the prosecution of the case.

daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com