A routine cross-examination session at Jamaica’s Home Circuit Court erupted into open tension on Tuesday, as Agriculture Minister Floyd Green locked horns with Hugh Wildman, lead defense attorney for six on-trial policemen, over repeated questions about Green’s political position and his credibility as an eyewitness. The high-stakes encounter unfolded during the continuation of a long-running murder trial connected to a 2013 triple shooting in the upscale Barbican neighborhood of St. Andrew.
The incident at the center of the case dates back to January 12, 2013, when three men — Matthew Lee, Mark Allen, and Ucliffe Dyer — were killed during a reported gunfight with police on Acadia Drive. The six law enforcement officers standing trial for their murders are Sergeant Simroy Mott, Corporal Donovan Fullerton, and Constables Andrew Smith, Sheldon Richards, Orandy Rose, and Richard Lynch. Fullerton additionally faces a separate charge of submitting a false statement to the country’s Independent Commission of Investigations. Prosecutors allege that during a routine police operation, officers signaled for the driver of a blue Mitsubishi Outlander to pull over, and that armed men exited the vehicle to engage officers in a shootout that left the three men dead. Authorities say two illegal firearms — an Arcus 9mm pistol and a Mac 11 submachine gun — were recovered from the scene, and a fourth man suspected of involvement managed to escape. Photographs presented to the seven-member jury show the Outlander, its two front doors ajar, parked on Acadia Drive just steps from its intersection with Evans Avenue.
Green, who lived on the top floor of a nearby multi-story apartment building on Acadia Drive at the time of the shooting, is one of only two surviving eyewitnesses to testify to what he observed that day. He has told the court that he watched part of the incident unfold from his bedroom window. As cross-examination got underway on Tuesday, Wildman first questioned Green about the angle of his vantage point, asking whether the minister’s view of the parked Outlander would have required him to look up the street, rather than directly across. Green pushed back on the suggestion, maintaining his position allowed him to look “down and across” at the scene.
The exchange quickly escalated when Wildman referenced Green’s role as a sitting government minister, framing the question as relevant to assessing the witness’s credibility. The reference immediately angered Green, who warned the attorney against “going back down this road” and declared his credibility “unassailable.” When Wildman repeated the reference to Green’s ministerial title a second time, Green refused to continue engaging on the line of questioning, demanding the attorney drop the topic. Prosecutor Kathy-Ann Pyke intervened to alert trial judge Sonia Bertram-Linton that an argument was imminent, but the judge declined to restrict Wildman’s cross-examination strategy, noting she would not instruct defense counsel on how to question a witness.
Tensions flared again later in the session as the two legal teams clashed over the content of Green’s original January testimony. Wildman pressed Green on whether he had previously stated he could see blood on the chest of a man in a white shirt lying behind the Outlander. Pyke objected immediately, arguing Green had only testified to seeing blood on the man’s shirt, not directly on his chest. Even Justice Bertram-Linton initially could not recall Green making the specific claim about blood on the chest, prompting defense team member John Jacobs to pull the original January trial notes to confirm the testimony. Jacobs, irritated by Pyke’s repeated objections, asked the prosecutor to allow the defense to present its questions without interruption, leading Wildman to snap at Pyke, calling her a “muttering maniac” in remarks to the judge.
After reviewing her own notes, Justice Bertram-Linton confirmed Green had indeed told the court he observed blood in the chest region of the shirt. Even with the record clarified, Pyke continued to object, arguing Wildman had misrepresented Green’s testimony, which only referenced blood on the shirt, not the man’s body. The back-and-forth prompted an exasperated Wildman to accuse Pyke of insulting the intelligence of the seated jury. When Wildman turned back to continue questioning Green and the minister addressed him by name, the attorney snapped again, ordering Green not to repeat his name, as the entire court already knew who he was. This outburst drew a public rebuke from the judge, who chided Wildman for being rude and ordered him to adjust his confrontational tone and adhere to proper courtroom conduct.
Green was first called as the prosecution’s opening witness in January, and was recalled to the stand for further cross-examination last Friday. The trial is scheduled to resume on Wednesday, with Green set to face additional questioning from the defense team.