Keyshia and Clyde

by Treasure E. Blue

  Keyshia and Ceasar quickly slipped out the door to ensure she didn’t attract anyone’s attention.

  “Mr. Williams, is the government ready to proceed?”

  “We are, Your Honor.”

  “Very well, you may call your first witness.”

  T. Bernard stood and said in a booming voice, “The government calls Mrs. Clara Williams.”

  The bailiff went to the witness room to bring out Mrs. Williams. He led her through the door and escorted her up to the witness chair, where she was sworn in and took a seat. Clyde immediately recognized her from the bank. T. Bernard walked over to where she sat and welcomed her.

  “Can you state your name and occupation?”

  “My name is Mrs. Clara Williams, and I work at the First Bank of Savings as a branch manager.”

  T. Bernard smiled and asked, “Where is the bank located?”

  “It’s located on West One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Street in Harlem.”

  “On the morning of May 16, 2001, do you recall where you were?”

  “Yes, it was a Monday, and I was at my job.”

  T. Bernard nodded. “Do you recognize anyone in this courtroom who was in the bank on the morning in question?” When she nodded. T. Bernard said, “Can you point that person out?” She looked at Clyde and pointed in his direction.

  “Now, can you describe if the person is male or female and what they are wearing?”

  “He is a male wearing a blue suit, white shirt, with a red tie with blue stripes.”

  T. Bernard looked at the jury and said, “Let the record reflect that Mrs. Williams pointed at the defendant, Clyde Barker, who is wearing a blue suit, white shirt, red tie with blue stripes.” He turned his attention back to Mrs. Williams. “Now, Mrs. Williams, do you recall anything significant that happened at approximately eight twenty-five that morning?”

  Mrs. Williams closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The jurors watched her every move. “Three masked men suddenly came through the door waving guns and ordered everyone on the floor.” Mrs. Williams began shaking as she thought back to the incident.

  “Do you need a moment, Mrs. Williams?”

  “No, I’m okay.”

  T. Bernard stared at the jurors. “Were you confronted by one of the masked bank robbers?”

  “Yes, one of the men came directly up to me and told me to open the door to the tellers.”

  T. Bernard smiled at the jurors. “How many customers and employees would you say were in the bank that morning, Mrs. Williams?”

  She thought back for a moment and said, “I guess about fifteen or maybe twenty at the most.”

  T. Bernard had his back toward her and asked as he looked at the jurors, “Mrs. Williams, you mean to tell me that out of the entire fifteen or twenty customers and employees, the bank robbers came directly up to you and asked you to open the door to the teller room?”

  She shrugged and said, “Yes.”

  T. Bernard nodded and asked, “The defendant that you pointed out, his name is Clyde Barker. Do you know anyone he is related to?”

  She leaned forward to the microphone and said, “Yes.”

  “And who would that be?”

  “Ceasar Barker, the defendant’s brother.”

  “And can you tell us who is Ceasar Barker?”

  “Yes, he was an employee at the bank.”

  T. Bernard watched the jurors’ surprise and decided not to let go. He nearly raced to his table and lifted up a folder and announced, “Let the record reflect that in my hand I hold sworn testimony that one of the men who pleaded guilty to robbery of the bank in question is named”—he walked directly up to the jurors and held up the paper so all the jurors could see—“Sonny Barker!” Clyde cringed in his seat as all the jurors’ eyes seemed to bore holes through him.

  “Nothing else, Your Honor.” T. Bernard thanked Mrs. Williams and walked over to his table, satisfied that he had drawn blood.

  “Cross-examination, Ms. Hemmingway?”

  Ms. Hemmingway stood and greeted Mrs. Williams. “Mrs. Williams, may I ask you, how did you come to know Clyde Barker?”

  “Well, he came into the bank and introduced himself as Ceasar’s brother.”

  Ms. Hemmingway frowned. “He told you this through his mask?”

  “Oh no. He wasn’t one of the men who came into the bank to rob the place. He came earlier looking for his brother.”

  “So he had nothing to do with the bank robbery?”

  “Objection!” T. Bernard shouted. “Defense counsel is leading the witness.”

  “Sustained,” said the judge.

  Ms. Hemmingway smiled. “Sorry, I’ll rephrase the question. Was the defendant, Mr. Clyde Barker, one of the three men who came into the bank with masks on and waving guns?”

  “No,” said Mrs. Williams.

  Ms. Hemmingway stared at the jury. “Did he participate in any capacity in the robbery itself?”

  “No,” Mrs. Williams said calmly.

  “Did he threaten any of the customers or employees with a weapon?”

  “No,” she answered.

  Ms. Hemmingway folded her arms and said, “Let me get this straight: The defendant entered your bank, introduced himself by name, and he neither participated in the robbery nor did he threaten anyone that day. Is that correct?”

  Mrs. Williams hesitated for a second and then answered, “Yes, that’s correct.”

  “No further questions, Your Honor,” said Ms. Hemmingway as she smiled at the jurors.

  “Redirect, Mr. Williams?” asked the judge.

  T. Bernard stood quickly and said, “Yes, Your Honor.” He stared at his notes and asked Mrs. Williams, “Now, Mrs. Williams, does the First Bank of Savings employ a security officer?”

  “Yes, we do.”

  “On the morning in question, was there a security officer on duty?”

  “Yes, there was.”

  “Can you tell me, madam, if the officer on duty got into any altercation during the robbery?”

  Mrs. Williams looked at Clyde and said, “Yes.”

  “With whom?”

  “The defendant, Mr. Barker.”

  “Were any weapons involved?”

  “Yes, they were struggling for a gun.”

  “No further questions, Your Honor.” T. Bernard stared at Clyde and then at the jury.

  “Defense, any redirect?”

  Ms. Hemmingway said, “Yes, Your Honor.” She approached the witness. “Mrs. Williams, do you know whose gun was involved?”

  “No, I assumed it belonged to the defendant.”

  Ms. Hemmingway walked over to her table and removed a piece of paper and asked, “What is the name of the security officer who was on duty the day of the robbery and who was involved in the confrontation?”

  She thought for a second and said, “Mr. De La Cruz.”

  “Mrs. Williams, I have one more question for you.”

  Mrs. Williams nodded, and Ms. Hemmingway continued, “Does the First Bank of Savings have any protocol or guidelines for employees in case of a bank robbery?”

  She nodded. “Yes, we have a strict policy.”

  “Would it be safe to say that one of those guidelines is to not resist during the course of a bank robbery?”

  “Objection, Your Honor, she is leading the witness again.”

  “Sustained.”

  Ms. Hemmingway apologized and said, “Mrs. Williams, in your own words, what is the bank’s policy in the event of a bank robbery?”

  “It instructs us to not resist whatsoever for the safety of our customers and employees.”

  “So did the security officer violate the strict guidelines and put not only himself in jeopardy, but the public and employees?”

  “Yes, yes, he did,” she answered.

  “Does that same officer still work at your bank?”

  “No, he was removed from the bank for not following the branch guidelines.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Williams. Your Honor, I have no more
questions.”

  T. Bernard called various bank employees to the stand to confirm that Clyde was at the bank, and each time Ms. Hemming-way cross-examined them, they all stated that they saw Clyde there and struggling with the security officer and that was it. After calling seven bank employees and three customers to the bench to testify, the judge announced a recess until two.

  Keyshia and Ceasar had lunch together and sat and talked about the case.

  “So, how do you think the case is going?” asked Ceasar.

  “As well as expected,” Keyshia said.

  “Your boss is a motherfucka. He’s really trying to stick it to Clyde. You’re not hurt by what he’s saying? ’Cause it kills me every time he paints him in a corner.”

  Keyshia sipped her iced tea and thought about what he said. She told Ceasar point-blank, “He has to do it, that’s his job.”

  Ceasar frowned at her. “You sound like you’re on his side.”

  Keyshia stared at Ceasar and said, “No, he’s actually helping.”

  Ceasar frowned again and said, “Helping us? Keyshia, have you lost your mind? It only takes one juror believing that he is a monster.”

  Keyshia gave him a defiant glare and said, “You ever heard of the lesser of two evils?”

  Ceasar nodded. “Yeah, so what’s your point?”

  She smiled and said, “By the time all this is over, Clyde is going to look like a Cub Scout going up against the Devil.”

  The next witness T. Bernard called after lunch recess was the security officer, Jorge De La Cruz.

  De La Cruz was sworn in by the bailiff and took his seat in the witness box with an air of confidence.

  “Afternoon, Mr. De La Cruz,” said T. Bernard.

  De La Cruz edged close to the microphone, and his voice boomed throughout the courtroom: “Afternoon to you, too, sir.”

  T. Bernard winced at the sound and said in a low tone that he didn’t need to speak too loudly. Then he asked, “Mr. De La Cruz, can you tell us where you were on the sixteenth of May?”

  “Yes, sir, I was employed in the capacity of security officer at the First Bank of Savings between the hours of oh seven hundred and fifteen hundred.”

  T. Bernard hated these types and had warned De La Cruz previously to keep his answers short and to the point. Now he began to wonder if he’d made the right decision to have him testify.

  “Thank you.” De La Cruz nodded. “Do you recall seeing the defendant, Clyde Barker, enter the establishment?”

  De La Cruz stared grimly at Clyde and said, “Yes, sir, I observed the perp as soon—”

  “Objection, Your Honor,” said Ms. Hemmingway. “Witness is characterizing my client with his opinion.”

  “Sustained,” said the judge, who then instructed the witness to not form an opinion and to address him as the “defendant.”

  De La Cruz nodded and continued, “I observed the defendant enter the establishment at exactly oh eight twenty-five and quickly noticed his erratic and unusual behavior.”

  “What did you do then?” asked T. Bernard.

  “I immediately began making a mental note in my head of his full description and kept a close eye on him during his duration in the bank.”

  T. Bernard nodded. “Then what happened?”

  “Within fifteen minutes after the defendant entered the bank, three heavily armed men in masks with high-powered handguns came in and announced a robbery.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “One of the robbery suspects pointed a weapon in my face and ordered me to lie facedown behind the customer service counter.”

  “Where was the defendant at this time?”

  “Lying down next to me.”

  “Did you notice anything unusual at this point?”

  “Yes, I noticed that the defendant and one of the masked gunmen were making eye and head gestures like they knew each other.”

  “Objection, Your Honor. Witness is expressing his opinion again.”

  “Sustained,” the judge said.

  “No more questions,” T. Bernard said.

  “Cross, Ms. Hemmingway?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.” Ms. Hemmingway walked directly up to the witness, and De La Cruz knew he would be in for a handful from the eager-looking black woman.

  “Mr. De La Cruz, you said you noticed the defendant acting suspiciously as soon as he walked into the bank, correct?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said confidently.

  “In your opinion, what makes a person appear suspicious?”

  “Well, he walked in looking around.”

  “I see. So anytime a person walks into a bank and looks around, in your opinion he is deemed suspicious, Mr. De La Cruz?”

  “No, but he seemed different.”

  “Different how?”

  Suddenly Mr. De La Cruz was at a loss for words. “I . . . don’t know, it was something about him.”

  “Come on, Mr. De La Cruz, it was something that made him look—and these are your words—‘erratic and unusual.’ ” De La Cruz was speechless, and Ms. Hemmingway moved on. “You mentioned that when the gunmen entered the bank, you were ordered to lie down on the floor and observed the defendant and one of the gunmen making some kind of gesture? What kind of gesture?”

  “A gesture like they knew each other. Like he was part of the robbery.”

  Ms. Hemmingway nodded and walked over to her table and retrieved a handgun in a plastic bag with a tag on it. “Mr. De La Cruz, do you recognize this weapon?”

  “Yes, ma’am, it is my registered thirty-eight-caliber weapon.”

  “Let the record reflect exhibit C-three is entered into evidence.” She held it in the air for all to see. “Mr. De La Cruz, did you pull this weapon out at any time during the course of the robbery?” “Yes, ma’am,” he said proudly. “When I was on the floor, I saw an opportunity when one of the gunmen had his back turned and made a move for my weapon, which I had stored in my ankle holster.”

  Ms. Hemmingway nodded. “Mr. De La Cruz, in your capacity as security guard at the bank, were you paid as an armed or unarmed officer?” De La Cruz immediately knew where she was going with the question and was unable to answer it.

  “Mr. De La Cruz, were you employed as an armed or unarmed officer at the First Bank of Savings?”

  With much reluctance, he admitted, “Unarmed.”

  Ms. Hemmingway stared at the jurors and asked him as she continued to look at them, “So, you had an illegal weapon on you, is that right, Mr. De La Cruz?”

  He put his head down and said, “Yes.”

  Ms. Hemmingway wasn’t finished. “Let’s go back to when you pulled the weapon out of your ankle holster. Were you still on the ground?”

  “Yes.” Deflated, he now decided to give short answers.

  “Were you still next to the defendant when you reached for your weapon?”

  “Yes.”

  Ms. Hemmingway decided to go for the jugular. “Mr. De La Cruz, you mentioned several times that you were sure the defendant and the armed suspects were in on the robbery together, correct?”

  “One hundred percent sure.”

  “If you were one hundred percent sure that they were together, Mr. De La Cruz, why would you wait till the gunmen had their back turned to pull out your weapon, when you were next to their accomplice?”

  He could not answer her question.

  “Mr. De La Cruz, did you ever apply to become a New York City police officer?”

  “Yes.”

  “Were you ever hired?”

  “No, I was rejected because of medical reasons.”

  Ms. Hemmingway walked to her table and pulled out yet another document, entered it into evidence, and handed a copy to T. Bernard.

  “This is the psychological evaluation of Mr. De La Cruz, which states that he was rejected by the police department because he suffered from homicidal tendencies and would be a liability to the department.” Ms. Hemmingway held her copy in the air and said, “No more questions,
Your Honor.”

  Chapter 40

  _______________

  On the second day of the trial, the arresting officers were called to take the stand. One by one, each gave testimony about how one suspect got away but they’d captured three running out of the bank.

  A federal agent even testified how they’d considered bringing an indictment against Ceasar Barker because they believed that he was in on the robbery, but there had not been enough evidence to do so. And there was still the question about the one hundred and thirty thousand dollars that had been unclaimed and was ultimately entered into evidence and used against Clyde because Ceasar had originally said that he was holding it in a safe deposit box for his brother.

  Since T. Bernard saw that the case was slipping away from him, he decided to throw the unclaimed money into the story so a federal IRS claim could be made against Clyde just in case things didn’t work in favor of the prosecution. Keyshia had not figured on this and quickly made plans to offset it.

  After the agent testified about the money, Ms. Hemmingway called to the stand Mr. Johnson Gadson, better known as “Pops,” from Johnny’s Ice House.

  “Mr. Gadson, do you know the defendant, Clyde Barker?”

  “Yes, ma’am, he’s been working for me since he was a boy.”

  “And what is it that you do?”

  “Oh, I run Johnny’s Ice House, delivering ice to the businesses in the area.”

  “Sounds like hard work.”

  “It is, ’cause my back is killing me.” All the jurors laughed at the elderly man’s joke.

  “What were Mr. Barker’s wages at the time?”

  Pops frowned and said, “Who?” She pointed at Clyde, and he said, “Oh, you talking ’bout Rocco.” He said excitedly, “I paid him ’bout twenty-five dollars a day.”

  She nodded and said, “Well, Mr. Barker had over one hundred thousand dollars deposited in a bank. Would you know how a person who only earns twenty-five dollars a day could possibly obtain that kind of money?”

  “I thought it was one hundred and thirty thousand dollars.”

  “How did you know the exact amount, Mr. Gadson?” asked Ms. Hemmingway.