Everton 'Beachy Stout' McDonald is on trial for the murder of his second wife, Tonia.
By Racquel Porter
A detective corporal who took a cellular phone from the murder convict turned state witness in the Everton 'Beachy Stout' McDonald case, when he arrested him at his home in Portland on August 3, 2020, agreed that he made no mention of the seizure in his first statement.
This was disclosed during cross-examination by one of Mr. McDonald's attorneys Courtney Rowe.
Mr. McDonald and his co-accused, Oscar Barnes, are on trial for the July 2020 murder of his second wife, Tonia.
After more than a month of in-camera applications by defence attorneys representing the Portland businessman, the trial reopened to the media and the public Monday morning.
But it was in the afternoon that the fifth witness in the murder trial took the stand and gave details of the statement from Denvalyn Minott, the man who claimed Mr. McDonald offered him $3 million to kill his wife, Tonia.
The detective corporal said he was among a team of officers from the Major Investigation Division who went to Minott's home in Ranch Hill, Portland on August 3, 2020.
The cop said minutes after he introduced himself to Minott he seized his cellular phone.
He also seized a pair of shoes and a receipt.
Minott's son, who was at home, was also taken into custody.
But as it relates to the blue Samsung cellular phone, the cop said he placed it in his ballistic vest moments after he collected it.
He said when they arrived in Kingston he handed the items over to his superior.
During cross-examination, defence attorney Courtney Rowe asked the cop to count with him in an attempt to drive home his point that the officer first made mention of the cellular phone in his second statement, dated September 21, 2023, after the trial started.
But, during his examination-in-chief, the cop testified that he gave a second statement because his superior told him that the phone's model number was not in his initial statement.
When pressed further by Mr. Rowe about whether he made any record of the phone in the station's diary, the cop said 'no', adding that this was not his responsibility.
Earlier in the trial, Minott testified that he secretly recorded conversations with Mr. McDonald on his cellular phone.
The trial continues on Tuesday.
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