Ricardo De Four

Of the seven defendants on trial, Ricardo De Four stood out as the most important. Why? He was the only soldier on trial, as his colleague, Leon Nurse, turned witness for the US Government. De Four, 36, was no ordinary soldier. He was a highly-qualified member of the Special Forces Unit. He also provided bodyguard services to influential members of the society, including former President, Arthur NR Robinson, and batting star, Brian Lara. His Washington-based attorney, Jonathan Zucker, said, “Ricardo De Four’s case is a growing textbook of mistakes by officials. You see sometimes in their pursuit of justice, officials make mistakes and they allow their pride and ego to rule them.” Zucker continued, “Three and a half years ago on January 23, 2006, the DPP in Trinidad made a mistake. What was that mistake? The mistake was that an individual named Jason Percival came to them and offered to turn himself in. They listened to him and accepted his offer. The evidence has shown you that that was a big mistake.”

Zucker said the T&T Defence Force’s nominal role for April 5 to 10, 2005, and six of their muster record sheets show that De Four was on duty during that period. Percival, he said, testified that he was liming with De Four all day on April 6, 2005, the day when Balo was kidnapped and never seen alive again. Zucker said his client could never have done what the prosecution claimed. He said Balo was kidnapped at 6.45 pm from the Samaan Tree Bar, and that De Four was at Camp Omega, Chaguaramas. “The prosecution told you that none of the soldiers could swear that De Four was there. My question to you (the jury), is if I get charged with a crime in Baltimore about this time of the day when I am here as a lawyer in this trial or in exceptional circumstances if I needed to be excused and got the permission of the judge.

“Some of the lawyers may not readily recall my presence here, but the court attendance records will substantiate my presence in court. The same is the case for Ricardo De Four. Lawyers are very competitive and they like to win, but that is not always the motivation. Sometimes, you need to get to the truth. Jason Percival told the prosecution De Four was liming all day when in fact he was at work,” he added. Zucker said the FBI, the T&T Police, and the federal prosecutors were all duped by Percival. “All you have to do is to get someone in a desperate position and you will get them to do what they want. Zucker noted that De Four’s interview with the police lasted three and a half hours, yet the investigator recorded just six pages. He said the police officer said he had to go very slowly to check spelling and punctuation. “When he was asked to read it over, it took him ten minutes and if we guess that it would take an hour to write, that is ten minutes a page, then what was done in the extra two and a half hours?”

Zucker then turned to the co-conspirators. “When you are locked up with no freedom, sharing a cage with another person without privacy and no time to be with your loved one, that is what life consists of in jail. You are there until you die. The prosecution tells the collaborators that they can get a letter of substantial assistance if they assist them in putting someone else in prison. “The prosecution tells them if they do not tell the truth, they do not get off. The down side is who would not be tempted to bear false witness. The whole business of the cooperators reeks with inconsistencies, they cannot tell the truth, and some have to be lying about some things.” Zucker then summarised: “Winston Gittens came forward because he felt bad about Balo’s family. All the time he was on the street he did not come forward. He had to go to jail first. When he was interviewed by Lucas, there was no mention of De Four. De Four was only mentioned when he spoke to Clauss and Cruz and it had to do with the rental of a car.

When he got on the stand, he does not recognise Ricardo. He was asked if he was sure the person he pointed out was Ricardo and he said yes. The next day, a comical prosecution tried to clear up the situation by asking Gittens about his eyesight.” He continued, “Mr Gittens was asked if he could see beyond the wall clock or under it. They were not thorough in their investigations. Have you ever heard a bigger crock than that? Gittens did not want money, he only wanted to help his friend Ninja. He did it for humanitarian reasons just as he did when he saved the life of a man kidnapped. That is what the government put this man on the stand to say.” Zucker described Percival as the star boy. “On the stand he is very glib, calculated and lies convincingly without hesitation. He always does what’s in his best interest. He plans kidnappings and when there is no reward forthcoming, he collects from CrimeStoppers. He is a complete conman.”