The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

A MAN previously admitted to police that he murdered another man in the Woods Alley area three years ago not only in furtherance of a murder plot, but because he and the deceased were gang rivals.

Jahmaro Edgecombe admitted to killing Kenyari Lightbourne in June 2016 because of his affiliation with the Mad Ass gang when initially interviewed by then Detective Constable Raphael Miller just three weeks after the incident in question.

In fact, Edgecombe said he was after Lightbourne and several other affiliates of the Mad Ass gang, namely “Spider”, “Eyes”, and “Kadi”, with the promise that he could be paid $8,000 for killing any of them. Lightbourne ended up being the one he shot and killed that day.

Edgecombe further admitted that his co-accused, Daran Neely, was the one who authorised the hit on Lightbourne’s life some days before the actual murder, and that Neely sent his second co-accused, Sean Brown aka “Fire”, to pay him the $6,000 for successfully executing the crime.

And after killing Lightbourne and cashing in on his reward, Edgecombe told police he “paid off some bills” with the blood money and distributed the rest to family members.

The revelations were revealed during Neely’s, Edgecombe’s and Brown’s trial before Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson concerning Lightbourne’s death.

On June 21, 2016, Lightbourne was shot multiple times while walking through his neighbourhood off Market Street. He died at the scene.

Neely and Edgecombe aka “Bingy”, the alleged gunman, were arraigned within months of each other in 2016 in connection with Lightbourne’s death. Brown was charged with being an accessory after the fact.

At the start of yesterday’s proceedings, the Crown played a video recording of Edgecombe’s initial record of interview on July 13, 2016. Conducting the interview was Det Cpl Miller and sitting in was Det. Cpl. 2733 McKenzie.

During the interview, Edgecombe admitted to knowing Lightbourne via social media, but said the two were not friends. He agreed with DC Miller’s assertion that he was rivals with Lightbourne because of his affiliation with the Mad Ass gang.

Edgecombe said on the morning of June 21, 2016, he was “looking for affiliates” of Kenyari and the Mad Ass street gang and that he was in the area to “take out a hit”. When asked to specify what he meant by taking out a hit, Edgecombe replied: “To commit a murder that I would be paid for.”

He said on that morning, he saw both Lightbourne and “Eyes”; the latter was near an abandoned building while Lightbourne was on Market Street walking through Woods Alley. Edgecombe agreed with assertions from DC Miller that when he saw both men, he was hiding in a shortcut.

Edgecombe said when he saw Lightbourne, he did not call out his name to get his attention. Instead, Edgecombe said he simply approached Lightbourne and shot him three times with a chrome 40-caliber handgun. Afterwards, he said he ran onto Baillou Hill Road and caught a bus into the Pinewood area so he could “get paid”.

The gun he used was on his waist during his entire commute from the Woods Alley area to Pinewood, Edgecombe admitted. He said he ultimately sold it to a guy from the Chippingham area who goes by the name “Mob”.

Edgecombe, in response to a question put to him, said Neely authorised the hit on Lightbourne’s life. “It happened days before the actual hit, the murder, in Pinewood at my family residence (on) Spice Street,” Edgecombe said. He said no one else was present during his conversation with Neely.

“He ask me if I knew Kenyari or any of them other Mad Ass affiliates: Eyes, Spider, Kadi or Kenyari,” Edgecombe said during the interview. “Then after I said yes, he said if I kill any of them, I could get $8,000.”

After the crime, Edgecombe said Neely sent Brown to pay him $6,000 for killing Lightbourne. When asked by DC Miller how he knew Neely sent Brown to pay him, Edgecombe replied: “Because Daran called Sean Brown while we were together in a vehicle in the front of me.”

When asked what he did with the $6,000, Edgecombe said he “paid off a few bills, and gave some money to family members.” Edgecombe’s cousin Carlderon Brown, in a statement he gave to the police on July 8, 2016, said Edgecombe used $3,000 of that sum to buy a Nissan Primera.

At the end of the interview, Edgecombe said he was “comfortable” with the information he gave to DC Miller and said it was “all true”. He subsequently signed the record of interview and declined to give a statement under caution.

The matter continues. Racquel Whymms and Al-Leecia Delancy represent the Crown. Neely is represented by Wayne Munroe, QC, and Jomo Campbell; Edgecombe is represented by David Cash, and Brown by Nathan Smith.