Eleven Klans gang trial defendants granted court-ordered medical care

Supreme Court Judge Justice Dale Palmer has directed that eleven men on trial in the Klans gang case receive medical attention after defence lawyers raised a string of untreated health complaints on Tuesday.

The men are among twenty-five accused said to belong to the Tesha Miller-led faction of the gang—the second faction now before the courts. They face sixteen alleged offences spanning August 2017 to November 2022. The long-running matter, which began on February 4, is set to resume in September.

Attorney Kimberly Whitaker told the court that defendant Charles McCclary had missed an eye appointment because of daily attendance at trial and could not see clearly enough to review documents for his defence. Justice Palmer said efforts should be made for him to receive ophthalmic care. Similar appeals followed for Travis Drummond and Giovanni Macdonald over dental problems, including an infection Macdonald said had worsened. Attorney John Mark Reed said Macdonald’s condition could become serious if left unattended.

Other accused named in the applications included Owen Billings, who reported respiratory difficulties; Sha Gilline, Jerome Spike, Ronaldo Spence and Sha Pottinger, who sought dental care; Carlos Williams, who broke his glasses and asked to see an eye doctor; Kirk Forester, who complained of right-leg pain; and Germaine Clark, who sought general medical attention for abdominal pain.

Attorney Sasha K. Shaw explained that correctional authorities typically take inmates to government clinics unless the court orders private treatment funded by relatives. She said in-house dental services at the institutions generally offer extractions only, not fillings or other restorative work.

Justice Palmer ordered Gilline, Spence and Pottinger to be seen by the prison dental team that visits on Wednesdays. Macdonald, Spike and Drummond were cleared for private dental care where their families would pay. McCclary and Williams were directed to receive eye care; Billings was to get attention for his breathing complaints; Forester was to be assessed, potentially including an X-ray; and Clark was to receive care for his abdominal pain.

In separate court business, David Smith is to be sentenced on July 24 in the Home Circuit Court for the shooting deaths of politician Philip Paul’s ten-month-old daughter, Sarah, and her mother, Tashana Patson. The date was fixed on Wednesday at a plea and case-management hearing. Smith, who pleaded guilty on June 10, is charged with two counts each of capital murder, conspiracy to murder, kidnapping and conspiracy to kidnap. He is jointly accused with alleged mastermind Leotaa Bradshaw, a former United States Navy petty officer who was reportedly in a relationship with Paul and is the mother of one of his children, along with Roland Balffor and Beatron Black. Prosecutors say Sarah and her twenty-seven-year-old mother were taken from their St. Andrew home on September 9, 2023, brought to East Kingston, shot and their bodies burned. Richard Brown and Roshene Miller have already pleaded guilty and been sentenced. The remaining accused return on September 17 for a trial-readiness hearing ahead of a September 28 trial start.

In St. Catherine Parish Court on Wednesday, motorcyclist Ryan Ray of Spanish Town was granted $500,000 bail on a charge of causing death by dangerous driving in connection with the death of seven-year-old Eden Watson, a Fairview Park student. Parish Judge Courtney Maxwell ordered him to surrender his travel documents, provide fingerprints and observe a surety order. He is to return on September 11. Police allege Watson was struck by Ray’s motorcycle around 3:00 p.m. on May 28, 2026, was admitted to Spanish Town Hospital and died on June 3. Attorney Rodine Richardson represented Ray at the bail hearing.

A thirty-nine-year-old Portland man, Ekymar Donor, has been released on US$2,500 bail after appearing in Nantucket District Court in Massachusetts on Wednesday on two charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury. United States media reports say Donor was arrested after an altercation on Tuesday in which he claims he acted in self-defence. A man was airlifted to a mainland hospital. Donor pleaded not guilty. His attorney, Rob Morerti, told the court the dispute involved a woman and that Donor had no prior criminal record. Bail conditions include GPS monitoring and no contact with the victim.