On the night of August 27th 2007 on North Front Street – George Junie
Balls McKenzie –the don of Pink’s Alley – was executed at
the mouth of the alley. He was shot three times, twice to the back of the head
and once to the left side of the head. He died instantly. Police say the man
who did it was the then 19 year old Edward Lord. Well on his 21st birthday –
which was yesterday – Edward Lord walked out of the Supreme Court a free
man.
That is because presiding Judge Adolph Lucas instructed the jury to acquit
lord of Junie Ball’s murder. The case against Lord fell apart because
the prosecution couldn’t find its star witness – Fredrick Lynch-Smith
whose also known as Diggy Dap. He says he witnessed the shooting but refused
to testify.
During a voir doire – a trial within a trial – the prosecution
asked the judge to accept into evidence Diggy Dap’s statement to police
in which he identified Lord as the shooter. The police say they did everything
to find Diggy – including tracking him down in Orange Walk where they
served him with subpoena. But still he was a no show and two police officers
testified that Diggy Dap told them he wouldn’t testify because he feared
he would be killed by the Crips gang. But that however wasn’t enough to
convince Justice Lucas that the prosecution did everything to find Diggy Dap.
For the prosecution that meant the end of their case since Justice Lucas refused
to accept into evidence Diggy Dap’s statement.
With that there was no other evidence implicating Lord in the murder and when
the jury returned – there were instructed to acquit lord who – after
18 months in jail walked free. Lord maintained he is innocent and told our court
reporter that he was at home with his daughter at the time Junie Balls was murdered.
Lord surrendered to police three days after the shooting in the company of his
lawyer. Because a jury was directed to acquit Lord – he cannot be retried
for Junie Ball’s murder. His attorney was Alifa Elrington.
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