A guilty verdict has been handed down against Jason Ricardo Layne, a Barbados man from Leadvale, Christ Church, in the murder of his brother Anthony “Bubba” Layne, after the defendant failed to return to court midway through his trial at the No. 3 Supreme Court. Following closing arguments from presiding Justice Carlisle Greaves, the 12-member jury delivered the conviction, closing a key chapter in a 2020 fatal shooting case that saw four people indicted in total.
Layne was the last defendant to go through jury proceedings, as three co-accused have already entered guilty pleas at different stages of the legal process. Ade Omotunde Blackman, a resident of River Land, St Philip, pled guilty to the murder charge before the trial officially got underway. Two other co-defendants – Oshea Kai Greenidge of Ruby, St Philip, and Shawn Crookendale of Skeetes Road, St Michael – entered their guilty pleas after trial proceedings began.
At the time of the trial, Layne had been released on bail, and he failed to reappear at the Supreme Court after the prosecution and defence presented multiple days of witness testimony and evidence. Justice Greaves made the rare decision to continue the trial in Layne’s absence, with the prosecution team led by Acting Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Krystal Delaney, supported by acting Senior State Counsel Anastacia McMeo-Boyce and State Counsel Kwame Ramsay. Layne’s legal team, Lesley Cargill-Straker and Kristin Vanderpool, remained to represent his interests throughout the in-absentia proceeding.
A critical pillar of the prosecution’s case came from the two co-accused who turned state’s evidence as part of a court-approved plea-bargain agreement: Blackman and Greenidge both took the stand to testify for the prosecution against Layne.
Blackman detailed the entire conspiracy in his court testimony, explaining that Greenidge first approached him with an offer from a friend – Jason Layne – who was locked in a bitter dispute with his brother and wanted to arrange his killing. According to Blackman’s account, Layne offered to pay him BDS $20,000 to carry out the shooting, and the three co-conspirators worked together to map out the exact time, location, and logistics of the attack. After the initial plot was finalized, the group brought in Crookendale to act as the getaway driver, Blackman testified.
Blackman walked the jury through the step-by-step execution of the plan on June 4, 2020. He told the court he left his home wearing casual clothing – shorts, a vest, and slippers – and carried a separate bag holding a disguise: a long-sleeved grey shirt, a reflective work jacket, long trousers, and a loaded Glock .357 pistol with nine rounds of ammunition. He met Greenidge, got into Greenidge’s car, and changed into his disguise before the pair received a urgent call from Layne instructing them to rush to the agreed meeting point.
When they arrived at the pre-arranged bushy area, they met Crookendale who was waiting behind the wheel of a stolen rental vehicle. Blackman installed false license plates on the rental car before getting inside, and Crookendale dropped him off at the back of a residential development in Leadvale, close to where Anthony Layne would arrive.
Blackman described the final moments of the assassination to the court: “I walked the road with a white shirt over my head Taliban-style. While I was there, I acted like I was cutting grass. Anthony Layne drove down and reversed and parked near a container and rolled down the window, looking at me suspicious. I waved at him. He did not wave back at me and rolled back up his car window. When he did this, I ran to the car and fired through the car window.”
Blackman, represented by defence attorney Kyle Walkes, has already been sentenced to life imprisonment with an initial 45-year tariff before he can apply for parole. After deductions for his early guilty plea, time already served in remand custody, and mitigating factors related to his cooperation with the prosecution, 21 years and 220 days remain on his sentence before he becomes eligible for parole.
Greenidge, represented by Senior Counsel Angella Mitchell-Gittens, also received a life sentence, with an initial 30-year tariff that was increased by five years to account for aggravating circumstances in his role in the plot. He received a 25% sentencing discount because he entered his guilty plea after the trial started, along with additional reductions for time served and his cooperation as a prosecution witness. Greenidge will have to serve 22 years and 172 days at Dodds Prison before he can be considered for early release.
Justice Greaves has scheduled the sentencing of both Jason Layne and Shawn Crookendale for December 4. Crookendale is currently represented by defence lawyers Sade Harris and Elan Greenidge, and remains in custody ahead of his sentencing hearing.