Ricketts was a ‘man of rage’ claims DPP

(CNS): The prosecution has described Tareek Ricketts as a 'man of rage' who stalked and waited for his ex- girlfriend to return home before murdering her new lover in December of last year along Shedden Road. During her closing arguments in the case against Ricketts for the killing of Jackson Rainford, Director of Public Prosecutions Cheryll Richards, QC, told the court that the defendant shot Rainford three times and fired a shot at his brother Che while he was trying to get away. The jury heard that the defendant was like a gathering storm and the incident was described as having started with a “few clouds, annoyance, irritation and ill-will that built over time” and culminated in the murder.

The Crown claimed that the witnesses in the case against Ricketts would all have to be lying or mistaken if Ricketts is really innocent. When suggested by defence counsel that the former friend and crown witness, Dale Vernon, was lying to cover up for his possible own involvement, he had denied this and claimed he had no reason to lie.

It was suggested by counsel that Ricketts' car had not broken down by the Mango Tree on the night of the murder as the defendant claimed during his time in the witness box, and the DPP said this was a lie to give reason for his proximity to the incident. Richards set out the evidence that the crown feels supports the charge that Ricketts was the gunman, including the timing, the sequence of events and the defendant's conduct.

The jury was asked to consider the multiple calls and messages from Ricketts to his former lover and crown witness, Tarina Tomlinson, in light of the shooting, along with the fact that after the incident, when he had seen the police road blocks around the area in which his children live, Ricketts stopped trying to contact Tomlinson. According to telephone records, Ricketts did, however, make calls to his two friends, Dale Vernon and Edrick Seymour.

The crown rejected claims by Ricketts that he was worried about his two young children being out at night but that he was, in fact, attempting to cover his tracks by "using his kids to cover up his anger about the other man,” Richards said.

In leading counsel's concluding argument, she suggested that had Ricketts not been affected by Tomlinson's outings with the Rainford brothers, he would have not have accused her of wanting him to watch their children so that she could “run up and down” with the deceased, as evidenced in text messages.

Following the crown’s closing submissions, the defence team was expected to conclude its own summary of the case against their 22-year-old client Thursday. The presiding judge, Alex Henderson, is expected to sum up the case for the jury Friday morning at the end of the two week trial.