Nine years asked for Vesuvius-case suspect

February 28, 2014 8:27 AM
PHILIPSBURG--The Joint Court of Justice heard the appeal of Vesuvius-case accomplice Andrew Selvin Davis (32) on Thursday. The Court of First Instance sentenced Davis to six years for the preparation of murder, firearm possession and for membership in a criminal organisation, on November 15, 2012.
 
Davis told the three Judges of the Court of Appeals he had filed for appeal because he was innocent. "All the charges against me are false," Davis stated.
 
He claimed his nickname "Ratty" had nothing to do with a bad reputation, but was a name given to him on the soccer fields of his native Jamaica.
 
The Prosecutor's office, which had requested a nine-year prison sentence against the defendant at the Court of First Instance, had also filed for appeal.
 
On behalf of the Prosecutor's Office, Solicitor-General Taco Stein presented a receipt for the purchase of four mobile phones and telephone conversations as evidence of Davis' involvement in the attempted murder of Omax Bye and Kennedy Fergus in the vicinity of Tan Tan supermarket in Dutch Quarter on April 20, 2011.
 
Stein said Davis should be acquitted of involvement in the murder of Eric Lake and Kevin Gumbs near Cat's shopping mall in Madame Estate on August 17, 2011, for lack of evidence.
 
For the remaining charges, the Solicitor-General requested nine years.
 
Davis was among seven men suspected of membership in a criminal organisation involved with murder; manslaughter; trafficking of cocaine and marijuana; trade in arms and ammunition and car theft.
 
Gang leader Omar Jones and hit man Carlos Richardson were both sentenced to 29 years and 9 months, on December 20, 2013. Four other suspects received four years.
 
Davis' case could not be handled at that time because of a change in his legal representation. On Thursday, Davis presented his defence with attorney-at-law Jason Rogers at his side.
 
Davis, who has been residing in St. Maarten since 2001, did not deny he was friends with Omar Jones. Their relationship started in 2007/2008 via his business, the contractor and salesman of second-hand cars explained. Davis said Jones and him had started socializing and developed a close friendship over the years.
 
He said Jones had confided in him and had informed him about his involvement with murder, among which the killing of Lake and Gumbs.
 
Davis told the Court it was difficult to witness Jones' unburdening. "I told him I didn't want to hear no more. The less I knew the better it was. I didn't want to have to lie for a friend and go to jail for it."
 
The two are embroiled now, but Davis explained their former good friendship due to the fact that they had both lost a brother.
Omar Jones' brother Amador was shot and killed on April 16, 2011. The murder ignited a war over supremacy in the drug world in St. Maarten, which cost four lives, among those of brothers Miguel and Rodolfo Arrindell, respectively in May and July 2011.
 
Solicitor-General Stein said that under Jones' leadership the group had tried to secure supremacy in the local drug trade by ripping off competitors. With the money derived from these activities they purchased weapons to commit murder.
 
In the Prosecutor's Office's opinion, Davis was closely involved with the planning of these activities, as Jones' main advisor.
Davis laughed this off. "You can hide from a thief, but you can't hide from a liar," he said using an old Jamaican proverb.
 
Despite his close ties with Omar Jones, Davis said this did not mean he also was involved with crime. "I am a father of three children. I am a hard worker. The accusations are based on stories," he said.
 
Davis denied he had anything to do with the shooting at Tan Tan. "I have nothing to do with the crime," he said, dismissing statements provided by a co-suspect as hearsay. "I was at home at the time," he said.
 
The defendant also did not play any role in the murder at Cat's, he claimed. "I was shopping at Le Grand Marché and going on with my daily routine," said Davis.
 
A rifle, pistol and revolver were found in a plastic bag, buried in the yard outside his apartment in Mary's Fancy, on November 16, 2011.
 
Davis told the Court he had become enraged when he found the weapons while he was cutting the grass a few days before his arrest. He said he had become enraged and had told Jones to remove the weapons or he would go to the police. However, Jones told him Davis was not to be a snitch, "or you will have to pay the price."
 
After his arrest, Davis was separated from his co-suspects. He was detained in the Netherlands for eight months, after which he returned to St. Maarten and was held at the Simpson Bay Police substation, for safety reasons.
 
Davis claimed he was not only the victim of police brutality but was also stabbed by fellow-detainees while he was sleeping in the cell he shared with seven inmates.
 
He said he was stabbed 13 times in his chest and had to fight for his life in hospital. "I was in a coma for three days," Davis said, who was placed in solitary confinement since then.
 
"Where there is smoke, there doesn't have to be fire," attorney Rogers said in pleading for his client's full acquittal. He said there was no evidence of his client's involvement with murder, and dismissed witness' statements as based on hearsay.
The firearms found in his client's yard were not his. Also, Davis was never involved with a criminal organisation, Rogers stated.
 
As is customary, Davis spoke the last word. "Omar was my friend, but I am not responsible for his actions. I am a law-abiding citizen and I know what is right and what is wrong. This has nothing to do with me. For sure I am not a gang member," he said eloquently. The Joint Court will give its decision March 19.
 
(The Daily Herald)
 
 

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