Cop summoned by defence contradicts Too Cool’s evidence

A police officer who the defence summoned to testify on behalf of popular DJ Too Cool Chris in his wounding trial contradicted the accused man in vital aspects of the case.

Police Constable 983 Jahshem Lynch said that he witnessed the shooting, but said that the defendant, whose real name is Christopher Jones, did not cross the street in Kingstown during the incident or stand over the victim after shooting him three times, contrary to Jones’ evidence.
Senior Magistrate Tamika McKenzie is slated to hand down her verdict on Dec. 10, but said she would notify the parties if she had a verdict before then.

Jones said that he shot Patterson in self-defence, but the prosecution has argued that he did so maliciously and should be found guilty.

In his testimony at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court, Lynch said he prepared two statements in relation to the shooting but was not called by the prosecution as a witness.

He asked that his statement be his evidence in chief in the matter.

The constable, who has been enlisted for eight years, told the court that he recorded the first statement on July 18, 2024 — two weeks after the shooting.

In that statement, he said that he was near Courts in Kingstown around 8:30 p.m. on July 4, 2024, when he saw Too Cool “walking coming down the road” with what appeared to be a firearm in his hand.

Lynch said a man whose name he did not know and who he later found out to be Patterson was walking behind Jones, cursing and saying, “I will kill you tonight. I have to kill you tonight…

“About five minutes later, I saw Too Cool Chris turning around, facing the guy, and I heard three gunshots go off,” the office testified.

He said he saw the man staggering away from a jeep that was parked in the vicinity and fall down in the taxi stand area.

“I then heard Too Cool Chris said, ‘You think I’m fraid of you. I ain’t friad of you, guy’,” the officer said, adding that the man then said, “You shoot me. Just so you shoot me?”

Lynch told the court that a crowd began to gather and other police officers approached Too Cool and took the firearm from him.

He said Corporal of Police 350 Humphrey and other officers escorted Jones to the police headquarters, which is located nearby.

Officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrived in a vehicle a short time after.

He said the man stood up on his second attempt and hopped into the back of the police vehicle and was taken to the hospital to seek medical attention.

“One black pair of sneakers and a red knapsack bag was left on the ground that the guy was wearing,” Lynch told the court, reading the statement.

He said that the police later told him the man’s name: Kevin Patterson.

“At the time he got shot, he and Too Cool were about five feet apart from each other,” Lynch told the court, reading the July 18 statement.

People act ‘out of character’ during carnival

The officer gave the police another statement on Aug. 19, 2024, in which he said that on the night of the shooting, Jones and Patterson were heading in the area of the vegetable market downtown when he heard the death threat issued.

“I did not pay attention seriously because it was the carnival season and persons would normally act out of character around that time,” Lynch said.

He, however, said he paid attention to what was taking place “in the event that some misunderstanding was to take place”.

The officer said he was off duty at the time, adding that other police were “around the area in close proximity when the shots rang out, so it was not long before police officers in uniforms were on the scene”.

He said Patterson appeared to be fiddling with the knapsack that he had when Jones turned around and was facing him.

“I did not get to see if the unknown man had anything in his hand or pulled anything from his bag because everything happened so fast,” the officer said.

Lynch said Humphrey arrived at the scene about three to four minutes after the shooting.

“A crowd immediately gathered around after the shots were fired and I was not able to see what happened to the knapsack,” Lynch said.

He suggested that the Criminal Records Office be contacted regarding photos taken at the scene.

Responding to questions from Jones’ lawyer, Grant Connell, Lynch said he was never taken back to the scene.

He said he interacted with the then Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Sejilla McDowall in relation to the case.

Lynch said the DPP called him on a date he could not remember, seeking clarification on certain things, which he provided.

He said he does not know the defendant, they are not related, nor close friends, nor have any other relationship.

Not asked to prepare statement

During cross examination by the prosecutor, Sergeant of Police Shamrack Pierre, Lynch said that the clarifications that the DPP sought were not given in the form of the second statement, which he wrote on Aug. 19, 2024.

“The DPP wanted to clarify if at the time when the guy was shot if he was in front of Mr. Jones or behind of him. That was one of the questions,” Lynch said.

He said he put the information in writing.

He said another question was about the knapsack that Patterson was carrying and if he had seen Patterson pull anything from the knapsack.

Lynch said he only gave one additional statement to the one he initially gave on July 14, 2024.

He said he prepared the statement on July 18, 2024, when the investigator asked him to do so.

“And if the investigator did not request of you to prepare that statement, you would not have prepared it?” Pierre asked.

“When the investigator arrived at the scene when the incident took place, which was July 4, we spoke after everything was processed.

“The investigator told me at the time he did not need a statement. I even asked him if he was sure. He said yes. And later, he came back and asked me for a statement,” Lynch testified.

Pierre reminded Lynch that he had just asked him how long he had been a police officer.

The prosecutor then asked the witness if he had seen it fit to prepare a statement and take it to his supervisor.

“I work on instructions,” the office said.

Officer did not report shooting

He said he did not go to the barracks on July 4 and report the shooting incident, nor did he speak to a supervising officer about what he had witnessed.

Lynch told the court that his supervising officer, Superintendent Blake was among the officers who visited the scene, but he did not speak to her about what he witnessed.

Lynch told the court he knows that Jones is not a police officer and it is not normal for civilians to walk around with firearms in their hands.

He, however, said he did not inquire about why Jones had a firearm in his hand because he knew Jones held a firearm permit.

Lynch said that while he was working as the sentry at the Central Police station, Jones had come by more than once, saying he was going to pay for his firearm licence.

“So, in your mind, it was ok for him to walk in the street with the firearm in his hand?” Pierre asked Lynch.

“I don’t know if he was going to place it in his vehicle or if he was going to pay his firearm license but for some reason, I did not ask him,” the officer responded.

Lynch, however, said he did not know where Jones’ vehicle was.

“That is why I said I assume he was going to the station or the vehicle.”

Lynch said it could have been two or three years since he had last seen Jones going to pay for his firearm license.

“So then, you could not have been sure it was the same licensed firearm Too Cool was carrying that night?” the prosecutor asked.

“I do not know what type of firearm he was issued with, the time stamps on the renewal of his firearm license — how long the license lasts before you have to renew it,” Lynch responded.

He said he was not concerned when he saw Jones with the firearm in his hand.

Two seconds between shots

Lynch said he had a good view of the pedestrian crossing near Home Centre and there were other people on the other end of the road, closer to the financial complex.

He also said vehicles were passing at the time and he was monitoring both Jones and Patterson.

Lynch said there were about two-second intervals between each of the three shots.

The officer said Patterson was not running away from Jones during the shooting but was about five feet from the defendant, fiddling with the knapsack during the shooting.

Lynch told the court that Patterson began to stagger after the second shot rang out, but he could not recall whether he was holding any part of his body.

He told the court Patterson still had the bag after the second shot, and after the third shot, he “staggered over” and fell down in the vicinity of the taxi stand.

He agreed with the prosecutor that one has to cross the road to get to the taxi stand.

Lynch said that after the shooting, Jones was still standing where he had been initially.

“I can’t recall seeing him move. He stood there. … He did not go over to the other side of the road. I didn’t see him go over there.”

Lynch maintained that Jones had not crossed over to the other side of the road where Patterson fell, even at the time when Humphrey responded to the shooting.  

He said that Jones willingly handed over the firearm to Humphrey.

Lynch said that during those three to four minutes, he went across to Patterson and asked him if he was OK but did not attempt to secure the firearm from Jones.

Lynch said he did not notice anything about the knapsack and he did not know where Jones was at that time.

“My back was turned to him.”

Lynch told the court that he did not hear the words “Stay down! Stay down! A million people see you pelt me down with bottles up the road!”

The officer said that Jones was not standing over Patterson when he was on the ground, nor did he have the gun in his hand at that point, as the prosecutor suggested.

Lynch said he did not attempt to recover the bag.

“That’s not my job. CRO personnel are there; why would I attempt to recover the bag?”

Asked by the prosecutor if, as a police officer, he had tried to preserve the bag, Lynch said:

“When the CRO police personnel were there, I would not be involved in that. That’s not my area, my field. And so, I did not attempt to preserve it. If I remove it, I will be tampering with their job.”