The men appeared in court virtually on Friday, October 15, where the charge of murder was read to them.

Due to the nature of the offence, being indictable, which will be tried before a judge and jury in the high court, the men were not required to enter a plea.

They were remanded to prison by Magistrate Khadeen Palmer.

According to the DPP, the person behind the hit is still at large; however, there are phone and CCTV evidence linking the quartet to the crime.

Daly was gunned down in Spring Ghut in broad daylight, and his body was found by other road users.

Allegations

According to the Director of Public Prosecutions, Scatliffe-Esprit the deceased was the owner of International Flavour Cuisine, a restaurant located in Purcell Estate.

On September 10th 2020, the deceased left his residence sometime after 9 am, dressed in a black t-shirt, a black trek pants with a white stripe and a pair of white black and Jordan sneakers. He was driving a white Hyundai Tucson.

She said sometime after 1 pm the body of the deceased was found on a road in the area of Spring Ghut, in a road leading to Nottingham Estate.

The body was found a few feet away from the vehicle and was discovered by persons travelling on the road.

She said the police arrived on the scene at 1.23 pm, and the body was observed lying across the road with apparent gunshot wounds to the head and body.

The autopsy revealed that Daly received multiple gunshot wounds, and the death was ruled a homicide.

She said as part of the investigation led by the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force evidence was gathered from the accused men’s phones, from CCTV.

She said it shows that the deceased was in constant communication with Mr. Crook several times on the day question.

The first call was at 9 am while he was still home, and Mr. Crook would then contact Mr. Ormond.

Crook was driving a black Kia Soul, and he was captured on CCTV, where the deceased lived around 9 am.

She said between 9.15 and 9.21 there were a series of WhatsApp messages between Mr. Crook and Mr. Ormond, “where there is conversation about catching the fish.”

She said both men were questioned in October 2020, and at that time their phones were taken for analysis, “and from that phone evidence, there were a series of conversations between the accused referring to ‘getting the fish’ or ‘setting up the fish’ who is now confirmed to be the deceased.”

She said evidence shows after Mr. Daly would speak to Mr. Crook, he would immediately call Mr. Ormond, who was seen driving a silver Toyota Rav4. Mr. Benjamin was driving a blue Suzuki grand Vitara and his passenger was Mr. Choucoutou.

CCTV shows Mr. Daly travelling to Nanny Cay after the conversation, it further shows that when Mr. Daly passed a food truck in the vicinity of the Hospital, the vehicle being used by Mr. Benjamin and Mr. Choucoutou were seen at that location between 10.40 and 10.44 am when he drove past the food van.

The two aforementioned men were spotted driving closely behind him when he was in the VI Motors area in Duff’s Bottom.

The men were also seen going into VI Motors, while the deceased went to Nanny Cay at 11.35 am and called Mr. Crook.

The telephone conversations continued at 11.39 and at 12.22 pm between the deceased and Mr. Crook when he left Nanny Cay.
Shortly after the men left VI Motors another call from Mr. Daly to Mr. Crook occurred and this telephone call placed the deceased in the Spring Ghut area where his body was later found, and the cell towers also placed Mr. Crook in the same area.

At 12.35 pm there was another call between Mr. Crook and Mr. Ormond which lasted for over 17 minutes, at the same time Mr. Daly called Mr. Crook and he was placed on hold, and the men had a conversation.

The vehicle used by Mr. Benjamin and Mr. Choucoutou were seen driving in the Spring Ghut area at 1 pm, at the same time that the deceased was seen heading to that area at 1.04 pm.

The silver Rav4 driven by Mr. Ormond was spotted to be heading in the same direction, and was circling around, driving behind the vehicle of the now-deceased man.

The last phone communication from the deceased was at 1.06 pm and it was to Mr. Crook who then immediately called Mr. Ormond.

“He was in constant contact with Mr. Crook up until this incident. CCTV footage all shows the black Kia, the Silver Rav4 and the blue Suzuki all travelling in an easterly direction from Spring Ghut between 1.07 and 1.10 pm," the court was told.

The men were rearrested on October 13, this year and searches were conducted on their homes.

They were interviewed under caution and they all denied being involved.

“The investigations revealed, that it is believed that Mr. Daly was the target of a hit and it involved financial remuneration paid to the accused.”

The matter was adjourned to November 24 for continuation.

Attorney at law Valarie Gordon represents Micah Ormond, Mr. K’Vawn Choucoutou is represented by Reynela Rawlins, Mr. Michael Maduro is Dejshon Benjamin’s lawyer, Edward Crook is represented by Stephen Daniels.