KINGSTON, Jamaica – The faction of the Klansman gang supposedly led by Andre “Blackman” Bryan was behind the burning down of at least three stores operated by loan company Torpedo in 2017.

That’s according to witness number two, a self-confessed gang member turned crown witness, who said the decision to burn down the stores in Spanish Town, Linstead and Old Harbour was taken because the owner “wasn’t cooperating”.

The individual in continuing his testimony Wednesday morning said plans were made to burn the entities after Bryan received a call from an individual known as “Citipuss” who complained about the owner.

“Dem seh dem haffi do something to get his attention. We start planning,” the witness said, adding that, “nobody objected” to the idea from Citipuss.

He told the court that in the instance with the Spanish Town outlet, the men who allegedly carried out the act armed with gasoline, broke into the building, threw the gas all over and lit it. He said he saw the building burning when he picked his cronies back up after that act.

The witness in his testimony last week said he was the banker for the group. He told the court that he under Bryan’s instructions retrieved extortion monies on a daily basis of between $80,000 and $100,000 from the section of the bus park in Spanish Town under orders from Bryan who allegedly controlled one part of the park.

He said monies were also collected from a community behind the bus park and the Torpedo Loan Company located in Spanish Town which also has outlets across the island. This he said amounted to $150,000 per month.

Alicia Dunkley-Willis