Crookendale pleads guilty to murder as co-accused trial proceeds

S hawn Orlando Crookendale on Wednesday pleaded guilty to the murder of Anthony Layne, joining two other accused who have already confessed, while the trial of the remaining defendant, the victim’s brother, continues in the Supreme Court. Attorney Sade Harris, who along with co-counsel Elan Greenidge represented Crookendale, asked for her client to be re-arraigned moments before the trial resumed in the No. 3 Supreme Court. The plea was accepted by Acting Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Krystal Delaney. Justice Carlisle Greaves then remanded the Skeetes Road, St Michael resident in custody, ordered a pre-sentence report and a time-served record before scheduling sentencing for December 4. St Philip residents Oshea Kai Greenidge of Ruby and Ade Omotunde Blackman of River Land have also confessed to Layne’s murder on June 4, 2020.

The trial of the remaining accused, the deceased’s brother, Jason Ricardo Layne of Leadvale, Christ Church, then proceeded, with several statements being read by the prosecution team of Delaney, acting Senior State Counsel Anastacia McMeo-Boyce and State Counsel Kwame Ramsay. One of those statements was that of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s Dr Ross Herbert, who said that after arriving at Leadvale, Christ Church, he was escorted to a parked motor car and saw the motionless, bloodstained body of an adult male slumped on the driver’s side. The doctor’s statement read: “On close examination there were no breath sounds, no heart sounds and no pulse. Death was pronounced by me at 12:55 hours that same day. ” The jury of ten women and two men also heard the statements of two civilian witnesses, one of whom told police that he had a Suzuki Baleno, which was registered at the Licensing Authority but, after getting into an accident, the vehicle…