Quada Gets Bail Extended In Murder Case
Dancehall artiste Quada appeared before the Kingston and St. Andrew Parish Court on Wednesday in the ongoing case where he is charged for the murder of Miguel Williams, 30, in Sterling Castle Heights, St, Andrew on April 17, 2019.
The 23-year-old protégé of international deejay Popcaan whose given name is Shaquelle Clarke shocked fans after police arrested him on January 15, 2020 for the 2019 murder of Williams and arson of his home. Williams is alleged to have been involved in the murder of an eight (8) year old- Shantae Skyers, whose body was found in Blue Hole, a section of Sterling Castle Heights.
She had gone missing in 2019 and days later her body was found. Her family says she was raped before being killed and her body dumped. Reports say Williams was killed after angry residents stormed into his house, beat him then placed tyres around his body and set him afire inside the building. Another accused, Andrew Breakcliffe was charged in December 2019 for murder and arson in the same case.
Quada is being represented by a battery of lawyers that includes attorneys- at- law Bert Samuels, Bianca Samuels, and Stacy Knight. He’s been on bail since January.
However, one of his attorneys, Knight speaking with Irie FM on Wednesday bemoaned the delay in bringing the matter to trial. Jamaica’s justice system especially the criminal justice system has for decades faced backlogs as it buckles with the number of cases before it. The Covid-19 pandemic has put a strain on the operations of the court which means that many cases are either called virtually or some have been put off.
Knight says she and her client had expected the pandemic to cause some delay to the matter “covid-19 pandemic aside we still expected something more to happen we expected to move forward.” She added that Quada is anxious to get over the matter as he is innocent. “He maintains he had nothing to do with any mob killing and he’s looking forward to the opportunity to clear his name at the committal hearing.”
She said on Wednesday her defense team was told that the prosecution is not ready. “We were told again, as in March, that the post mortem report is not ready and they’re asking for two (2) more weeks to prepare post mortem…also we haven’t received all the statements, although the statements are ready, we haven’t gotten them and we didn’t get them in March but we were told then too…”
She added it’s a slow process which is frustrating for the attorneys and the client.
Quada is among some of the newer faces in dancehall. He rose to prominence at Popcaan’s Unruly Fest in St. Thomas in December 2019, and is also part of Popcaan’s Unruly camp. His songs More Money More Life, Celebration, and Hail saw more views as news of his arrest spread with many being unaware of who he was although they were familiar with his songs.