“Blondie” denies knifing fish cleaner to death

By Shemuel Fanfair

Quaison Jones called “Blondie” on Monday denied killing fish cleaner Marlon Green at the Meadow Bank Wharf, Georgetown, during the early morning hours of January 17, 2011. After entering his not guilty plea before Justice James Bovell-Drakes, a 12-member jury was empanelled to hear the matter.
He is represented by Attorney Ronald Burch-Smith while Prosecutors Tiffini Lyken and Tameika Clarke are presenting the State’s case. Eyewitnesses, who took the stand on Monday recalled seeing the accused over the deceased making stabbing motions.

Green’s brother, Rondell Singh, who also cleaned fish at the wharf said he and others ran to the scene after hearing Green “get bore up”. He said he saw the defendant over his brother and when he pushed him off, he saw a knife with blood and a hole in Green’s neck.
“I see he cuff Marlon on de ground and when I reach, Blondie had a black-handled knife in he hand; de knife had blood pon it,” the dead man’s brother told the court.
Singh along with another witness, Nicolas Isaacs, who was also a fish cleaner testified that Jones ran away from the scene. Under cross-examination, 28-year-old Singh, who worked as a fish cleaner for around 17 years, said that he knew his brother smoked cigarettes but nothing else like weed or cocaine when probed by Burch-Smith.

The attorney suggested that his brother smoked “weed” which Singh denied. The Defence further indicated that fellow witness Isaacs was not with Singh at the time he ran to Green which was also denied. As the cross-examination progressed, Singh seemed to encounter difficulties with his hearing and the attorney asked why this hearing difficulty developed suddenly. Burch-Smith had to also repeat himself several times owing to the fish cleaner responding that he could not understand.
Isaacs, who said he knew “Blondie” for some four months prior to the incident also recounted how the events unfolded. He said he was 17 at the time and noted that he was with workmates Christopher Vieira and Rondell Singh, Green’s brother. He said too that after running over to the scene, he saw a black-handled knife in the defendant’s hand. Under cross-examination, he denied that he and Green went to confront Blondie or that he had armed himself with a knife to attack the defendant.
Another witness, Steven Vieira, in whose yard the fish was being cleaned, denied suggestions under cross-examination that he could not clearly see Jones stabbing Green. Vieira said the stabbing occurred some 60 ft away from his home at Meadow Bank koker but Attorney Burch-Smith suggested it was 200 ft. Vieira had said earlier that Green was like a stepson to him and denied that he “cooked-up” a story with his other relatives because of this relationship. Justice Bovell-Drakes reprimanded Vieira several times about not sticking to answering the questions being asked of him and further cautioned him against offering explanations. The trial continues at the High Court on Wednesday.