BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE WITNESSES who testified for the prosecution in the case involving former Police Constable Kern Cabey said that they did not see him on the premises of the RLB International Airport Fire Hall (AFH) and they did not see the intruder with a gun.
Cabey was charged with one count of endangering life and another count of enabling other people to endanger life for a shooting incident that took place at the AFH.
According to the facts of the case, Cabey was said to have borrowed a vehicle belonging to Constable Terry Regis and driven to AFH and fired two rounds of ammunition from his police issued glock pistol before breaking in to a holder where a rifle shotgun was stored.
Seven fire officers were called to give details about the evening of January 14, 2010.
They testified that at about 6:40 p.m. on the evening in question, they heard what sounded like two gunshots being fired.
They recalled where they were when they heard the gunshots and what they did after hearing them.
One witness said that she was in the alert room of the AFH when she heard the shots fired and when she went to see what was going on, she saw someone wearing a mask, camouflage pants and a black jersey resembling those that fire officers wore in the past.
She testified that the person was trying to break the lock to the case where a shotgun was kept in the sleeping quarters of the Senior Fire Officers.
She then said that she ran to the first of the two buildings on the compound into the recreation room where the other fire officers were and told them what she saw.
At cross examination, the witness said that she did not see any part of the person as they were fully covered.
She also said that the person did not speak and she did not see a firearm in the person's hand or anywhere else.
The other fire officers testified that they were in the recreation room when the shooting occurred and that they neither saw the person's face nor a firearm in the person's hand but were scared for their lives.
Seven police officers also testified on behalf of the prosecution.
Officer Terry Regis of the White Collar Crime Unit testified that it was around 6:40 p.m. he received a call from Cabey requesting the use of his car.
He said that Cabey told him that he needed to pick up a friend from the airport. Regis lent Cabey the car.
Regis told the Court that Cabey arrived at the Stapleton Police Station at 6:45 p.m. and returned the car at 7:10p.m.
He said that upon Cabey's return, they had a short conversation which ended when Sergeant (SGT) James Sutton told him [Regis] of a shooting report at AFH and they left Cabey at the station after he declined to join them to investigate.
Regis testified that when he returned to the station he inspected his car only to find damages to it along with thorns, dried branches and dried grass inside as well as on the outside of the car.
The Officer said that he spoke with SGT Sutton and the car was kept in police custody overnight. He also said that the following morning after the car was released, he noticed more damages to the car which he did not see the night before.
The witness told the Court that he called Cabey and told him about the damages and he also told him that he [Cabey] would have to pay for those damages.
Officer Regis said that Cabey arrived at the Stapleton Police Station the following day to look at the damages to the car and when he was asked where he went, he said that he went to Market Street by his girlfriend.
SGT James, the lead investigator in the case testified that at 6:40 on the night in question he was in the guard room of the Stapleton Police Station when he saw Cabey rush into the station and rushed back out about two minutes later and left in Officer Regis' car.
He said that the car was returned about 25 minutes later. He also said that at 7:15 p.m. he received a report of a shooting at AFH.
The witness told the Court that he went into the male barracks where Cabey and Regis were and told Regis that they need to respond to a report of a shooting.
He testified that when they got to the crime scene they met several police and fire officers standing in the yard of the AFH.
He explained that he spoke with the late Fire Officer Roy Hensley who pointed out bullets, shell casings as well as bullet fragments to him.
He said that Hensley also showed him the "rifle rack that had a galvanised chain banged in to the side and a cut chain link on the floor".
The officer said that he carried out further investigations on both the inside and outside of the buildings and collected shell casings, bullets and bullet fragments.
He said that upon reaching back at the station, he examined Regis' car and saw damages. He said that he also re-examined the bullets and shell casings that were taken from the scene and saw that they were that of a 9mm group.
Sutton said he called SGT Adams and showed him the shell casings and bullets from the crime scene when he arrived at the station.
He stated that he compared the bullets and shell casings from the crime scene to those that were in SGT Adams' firearm and saw that they were similar.
He further stated that he returned to the crime scene the following morning and observed that the vegetation just beyond the fencing of the compound comprised of thorns and 'casha' trees looked similar to those that were found in Regis' car.
He said that he had the area photographed as well as Regis' car and that he packaged the debris taken from the car.
Officer Sutton told the Court that that same morning he went to the Drug Squad Headquarters and spoke with SGT Travis Rogers and Cabey was called to the office.
Sutton said that after Cabey was informed of the investigations into the shooting the evening before, he was asked to hand over his firearm where the bullets were removed and examined.
He testified that four of the bullets that were in Cabey's magazine were those of various brands.
When SGT Rogers asked where he got them, Cabey replied "I was issued" to which SGT Rogers responded "Not me".
Sutton stated that Cabey's firearm was not returned but was handed over to him [Sutton].
He said that he continued his investigations into the matter and on July 1, 2010 after executing a search warrant on Cabey's home, he Cabey] was formally arrested and charged.
When cross examined and asked about the notes taken at the crime scene on the evening in question, Sutton said that he destroyed whatever notes were taken.
He also stated that it was at 6:40 p.m. he first saw Cabey which was at the Stapleton Police Station.
The star testimony was that of Ballistic Expert Derrick Sanker who explained that he was given a 9mm glock pistol, shell casings and bullets that were to be examined to determine if the bullets and shell casing came from the firearm.
He said that he test fired four rounds from the firearm and compared them here in St. Kitts but concluded that there were "insufficient microscopic details" but recommended further testing to fully determine if the bullets and shell casings did come from Cabey's firearm.
He testified that when he did further tests after going back to Trinidad where he resides, he did come to the conclusion that the bullets and shell casings did come from Cabey's gun.
When cross examined, Sanker revealed that he did not test the gun, bullets or shell casings for gunshot residue and he did not seek to determine the last time the gun was fired.
When asked by the foreman of the jury if the gunshot residue was relevant to the case, Sanker replied in the negative.
After the prosecution rested its case, Cabey, who was represented by Senior Counsels Dr. Henry Browne and Hesketh Benjamin, opted not to testify or call any witnesses to give evidence on his behalf.
The case began last Wednesday (June 13) with Crown Counsel Rhonda Nibett-Browne as lead prosecutor.
