An alleged member of the Westmoreland-based King Valley gang was this morning freed in the Home Circuit Court.
Ricky Hall, who was charged with being a member of a criminal organisation and knowingly providing a benefit to a criminal organisation, was released after the prosecution indicated that it had no evidence against him.
Hall was freed as the trial of other alleged members of the gang got under way today.
The Crown is alleging that as early as 2013, the accused – Carlington Godfrey, Lindell Powell, Rannaldo McKennis, Derval Williams, Hopeton Stanley, Christon Grant, Copeland Sankey and Sean Suckra – were a part of a criminal organisation in King Valley, Westmoreland.
Further, prosecutors say the gang was so structured that they had leadership and members.
The prosecution is also contending that, in the King Valley district of Grange Hill in the parish, the alleged gang members met at a shop where they planned robberies and loot distributed.
It is also being alleged that the accused used the strategic location to keep an eye on movements in and out of the community.