Recalled witness frustrated with legal process

A Kingston delivery man hired by Constable Noel Maitland to remove a sofa from his apartment expressed frustration yesterday after being recalled to the witness stand.

“A hope mi naa fi come back yah, mi tiad a unuh. Unuh a stress out mi and mi pickney,” the visibly annoyed witness blurted out after completing his testimony.

The witness had previously testified in the ongoing trial but was recalled to give further evidence regarding two phone conversations he had with Noel Maitland, which he had recorded.

Maitland is currently on trial for the murder of his 24-year-old girlfriend, Donna-Lee Donaldson, a popular social media influencer, swimwear entrepreneur, and customer service representative.

The delivery man, who had earlier described himself as “the last man to know what was going on” and as “a fool to this thing”, told the court he recorded the phone calls and shared them with investigators at the Criminal Investigations Branch (CIB) because “some things wasn’t matching up”.

On his first court appearance, he had also voiced frustration with the legal process, saying it was affecting his livelihood. He even brought his receipt book to show the court how much income he was losing by not being able to work.

During his initial testimony, he recalled that Maitland seemed surprised when he learned the police had seized the delivery truck. However, Maitland reassured him that the police were simply doing their job and that the vehicle would be returned, insisting everything would be “okay”.

According to the witness, Maitland and a friend visited him at his workplace and hired him to transport a one-piece, floral burgundy settee from Maitland’s New Kingston apartment to Half-Way Tree in St Andrew. The job was priced at $5,000.

He said he completed the job with a now-deceased co-worker named Carlos. The settee was delivered to a car wash.

However, less than a week later, the witness said Maitland contacted him again, asking if he was going to pick up the settee from the upholsterer.

Transcripts of the recordings were read aloud in court, and both audio files were played and entered as exhibits.

In the recordings, Maitland is heard apologising to the delivery man repeatedly, while reassuring him that he would make enquiries and that the truck would be returned once the police had completed their investigation.

“Yow bad man, a bare trouble mi inna,” the witness said during the call.

“A wa a gwaan?” Maitland then asked.

“Dem tek wey mi truck,” replied the witness, who sounded slightly irritated.

Maitland questioned the reason, to which the witness responded: “Hear di man a say dem tek wey mi truck fi wah, dem have everything pon camera.”

The constable repeated the question, and the witness replied, “How mi fi know?”

REASON FOR CALL

Maitland then explained that he had heard about the seizure and that it was the reason for his call. In one of the recordings, he told the witness that the police were investigating him because his girlfriend had gone missing, but that the truck would be returned once the investigation was completed.

Maitland was also heard saying he was calling to see if the delivery man could pick up his truck from the “upholster place”, and later telling him it appeared the authorities had “gotten to him”, after the witness became unresponsive.

“You a move like you guilty. Me been a call you and yuh not answering,” the constable was heard saying.

The witness, however, was heard saying, “Mi no waa nobody involve mi inna things. Me is a big man. All mi do a mi work.”

He was also heard saying that he was embarrassed by the seizure of his truck.

“I feel so embarrassed and shamed, and the bottom line is, I don’t know what it’s about,” said the witness, who also noted that he had seen news coverage about the situation.

Donaldson was reported missing on July 13, 2022, two days after she was last seen at Maitland’s New Kingston apartment.

Her mother previously testified that Maitland picked up Donaldson from her home on July 11. The following morning was the last time she heard from her daughter, who could not be reached afterwards.

The trial is scheduled to resume on Tuesday.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com