Ricardo De Four

Convicted soldier Ricardo De Four said in court he was promised a release if he co-operated with the police in the investigations into the kidnapping and murder of US citizen Balram “Balo” Maharaj. De Four, 36, a former member of the Special Forces, said he was made a promise when he was arrested and while he was detained at the Barataria Police Station. He said the police gave him a statement which he signed and he only did that because he was promised a release. He said the contents of the statement were not true. De Four was one of seven Trinidadians convicted before Judge John Bates in the Washington, DC, Federal Court on July 31 for taking Maharaj hostage. They will be sentenced on February 12, 2010. De Four gave evidence in his defence on July 15. He remembered the day of his arrest. He said on the morning of January 27, 2006, he had just completed an early morning cross-country exercise with the Special Forces operators.

When he returned to camp, he was told by his camp commander to report to Major Millington. Millington, he said, told him officers of the Homicide Bureau would be coming to arrest him for the kidnapping and subsequent death of Maharaj. He had a firearm on him which he cleared and handed over to his senior officers. De Four added: “He (Millington) also said that the Chief of Staff had received certain letters from an individual by the name of Jason Percival about my conduct unbecoming of a soldier. Two policemen came into the room and told me I was being arrested for the kidnapping and subsequent death of Maharaj. “There were a lot of people who trained together with me looking on at the situation that occurred because it was the first time in my army career in 15 years, I was ever arrested. “I was totally humiliated by the situation.

My vehicle, which was at Defence Force Headquarters, was searched by the officers in the open view of Defence Force people and also civilians that worked on the compound at Defence Force Headquarters. “The police told me Jason Percival had said I had used my vehicle to clear the roads and also to provide guns to carry to the crime scene. “That was not true. They said they did not believe I was involved in the crime. “They said they did not believe Jason Percival’s testimony because they believed he was minimising his involvement when he gave a statement.” De Four said the police wanted him to co-operate with them. “I immediately said to them, how could I co-operate with you all, if I don’t know anything about the crime? “They said they wanted Jason Percival because they believed he was involved in numerous kidnappings throughout Trinidad. “While seated in the police car, I saw Percival being escorted by a group of officers. He was not in handcuffs. “I became extremely concerned.

In December, prior to my arrest, Christmas Eve to be precise, Ricardo Stevenson was arrested in uniform in a military vehicle with an illegal firearm, which was planted on him by Jason Percival. “When I was arrested, I thought about my family firstly, how embarrassed they will be by this whole situation because of the amount of air play this case had gotten before the time I was arrested. “Also, because all my clients that I worked for at the time, I was protecting these people against the crime of kidnapping, now I am being arrested for this crime.” De Four said he was then taken to the Barataria Police Station. He said: “While in the cell, police officers kept coming in and out and throwing talk for me. “They were saying things to the extent that, ‘you all thought you were going to hide. Well, you could not hide forever.’ I felt humiliated. “While in the cell, I was thinking about my future in the army.

I knew Percival was part of the reason why I was arrested. “I thought about my family, my clients especially, for the former president whom I worked with up until two days before my arrest. “The police officers said they will go to their seniors and they will ensure that I am not charged and be released later on. “I decided to co-operate. They prepared a statement and I signed it. The statement was not true. “The information in the statement came from the police. I signed it because the police said I would be released and not charged.” De Four, in answer to his attorney Jonathan Zucker, said there was bad blood between himself and Percival. He said when the police came and arrested him on January 27, 2006, all he remembered was that he was at work, on April 6, 2005, the day Maharaj was kidnapped and never seen alive again.

TOMORROW: Gypsy’s son testifies