Martin ‘Jah son’ James, who was acquitted on charges of murder, attempted murder and wounding with intent almost two years ago, says he is fed up being the “biggest target on the streets,” and signaled that the problem is much larger than him.
James, who gave his age as 50, hurled a barrage of telling remarks across the Court room on Monday, while awaiting the commencement of the Serious Offences Court where he was to answer a charge of possession of 1,145 grams of marijuana with intent to supply, stemming from a police raid at his Villa home on May 8.
“Twice these people put me in jail for a murder I don’t commit. They trying to disarm me so that they go murder me. They trying to kill me. I lose everything since they put me in jail. The only thing leave for me to lose is my life,” James said in the presence of several police officers and two journalists.
He did not say specifically to what he was referring but, according to him, “These people coming to my place every minute looking for guns and ammunition. I should not be here this morning. I 50 years. I can’t escape from the police and the prison.”
James said all his friends have been killed, and took a swipe at the prisons, saying, “Is a recruiting centre they have round there. I was there. All you have a lot of problems in this place. Is not corona alone.”
Turning to the journalists, he blurted, “All you could quote me if all you want,” and he continued, “You think putting me in jail go get the guns dem off the street? All you don’t understand you all self-much less to understand the situation. All you should lucky is I have the guns and nobody else. The guns dem in the right hands.”
Court Clerk Corporal Atnel Ash told him to calm down, and suggested that he voice his grievances to the Magistrate when the Court commenced.
However, when the proceedings started, and James’ matter was called, he made no mention of what he had said before. He was, in fact, very calm when he faced Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne and pleaded not guilty to the charge.
His station bail continued, and the matter was adjourned to June 26.
James and Ricardo ‘Shrek’ McFee, also of Villa, created headlines about three years and seven months ago, when they were jointly charged with the murder of 9-month old Mozarie Lee and the attempted murder of the baby’s parents, Mozart Lee and Shelly Ann Durham.
The charges had stemmed from an incident at Glen on October 7, 2016 during which the infant was killed and his parents seriously injured, when gunshots were reportedly fired into a yard around 7 p.m.
