Dwane Williams, a former co-accused in the Lusignan massacre, was turned into a state witness because at the time of his arrest he was just 13-years-old, knew the inner workings of the Rondell ‘Fineman’ Rawlins gang and was the only eyewitness to the crime that police have been able to identify, sources say.
Recently, attorney Nigel Hughes, who represented one of the other two men charged with the crime, had accused the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack of letting Williams go free, despite his alleged participation in some 33 murders, by way of a plea-bargaining deal. The DPP has since denied this claim.
Hughes’ client James Anthony Hyles, called ‘Sally’ as well as Mark Royden Williams, called ‘Smallie,’ were acquitted by a High Court jury of 11 counts of murder last year. Shortly after the acquittal, the DPP filed an appeal, with one of the main grounds being that Hughes had a previous attorney/ client relationship with the foreman of the jury. Last month Hughes levelled his accusations at the DPP, pointing out that Williams had said in his trial evidence that he was present with Rawlins when the Lusignan, Bartica and Lindo Creek massacres had occurred. Hughes at the time was responding to several statements made by the PPP about his representation of Williams and his relationship with the jury foreman.
Several sources with knowledge of the case told Stabroek News recently that Hughes’s accusations are far from the truth and that the DPP was very reserved in her response to the accusations, not only because the acquittals are being appealed but because efforts were being made to protect Williams.
One source explained that the teenaged Dwane Williams was found wandering on a trail not far from the Lindo Creek mining camp, where the burnt remains of eight miners were found in June 2008. From all indications, he is the eyewitness to the Lindo Creek massacre that late former Top Cop Henry Greene had often spoken about.
After he was found by members of the Joint Services, Williams remained in custody and was later charged along with Hyles and Mark Royden Williams with the killings at Lusignan. In addition, Mark Royden Williams was charged with the killings at Bartica.
The source said that all the while, the teen was kept away from the prison population and was in protective custody. It was explained that Williams told the police and a jury during his testimony in the High Court that he had joined the gang since he was 10 and he had been present when crimes were committed.
Stabroek News was told that the teen provided investigators with information on the movement of Rawlins and his gang and before long it was decided that it was best for him to testify for the state as he had been a main witness during the preliminary inquiry into the murder charges stemming from the Bartica massacre.
The source also disclosed that the three massacres were said to have been committed by the same gang and it would be pointless to have Williams as a defendant in one trial and as the main witness in another.
The source said that during the High Court trial, whenever Williams had to attend court, he was always accompanied by police.
Further, the source said that before Williams got into the witness box, as is the usual protocol, both the defence and the court were served with copies of his statement, which detailed how he came to be part of the gang, how it operated and matters relating to the massacre.
According to the source, what occurred with Williams is different from a plea bargain deal as there was no consultations with Williams or exchange of anything for the charges to be dropped. This newspaper was told that Williams did not know the charges were dropped until the trial was about to start.
To this day, the source said, Williams remains in protective custody at an unknown location.
