False alibi and DNA seal robber’s conviction
Odain Ebanks
(CNS): Odain Ebanks (24) is facing a mandatory minimum jail sentence of at least ten years, having been convicted on Wednesday of armed robbery, as a result of DNA evidence and a false alibi, which sealed his fate. Justice Marlene Carter found Ebanks guilty of several counts, including robbery, possession of a firearm with intent and the unlawful use of a firearm in connection with a stick-up at the Czech Inn bar and restaurant in Bodden Town earlier this year. Ebanks was one of two men who, armed with a gun and pepper spray, took $700 from the restaurant and made off in a stolen car.
Police picked up the robbers’ trail in Savannah and chased them to Prospect, where Ebanks and his partner in crime, who has not been apprehended, abandoned the stolen car. Armed officers chased them to the dead-end on Victory Avenue, where the robbers engaged them in a shoot-out before taking off on foot into the bushes.
Although Ebanks was never formally identified by any witnesses, his DNA was found on the steering wheel of the stolen getaway car and on the pepper spray can linked with the crime, and also found by the side of the abandoned vehicle.
Ebanks had originally refused to answer police questions when he was interviewed after his arrest. But he did give evidence during his trial, claiming he was at home at the time of the robbery with his new baby and the child’s mother. He said that his DNA may have been on the pepper spray, as he recalled touching a can which had belonged to an associate, but he was unable to explain why his DNA was on the stolen getaway car from the robbery.
But having heard the case without a jury, the judge explained in her verdict that it was evidence given by the mother of his girlfriend, claiming to give him an alibi, which helped to seal Ebanks’ fate.
The witness testified that her daughter had been with her on the day in question, and that they had gone to church together that evening before her daughter had returned to the home she shared with Ebanks later that night. The woman claimed that she had spoken with her daughter on a video call some time before 11pm, around the time of the robbery, and could see Ebanks in the bed in the background of the video as she spoke with her daughter.
But police evidence told a very different story.
The movements of Ebanks’ girlfriend’s car, recorded by police, placed her in completely different locations, contrary to the claims made by her mother, and she was in the car at the time of the robbery, not home with Odain. Furthermore, Ebanks had chosen not to call his girlfriend as a defence witness to support the shaky alibi or challenge the police evidence.
Rejecting Ebanks’ alibi claims at trial, which proved to be false, and given his original refusal to speak to police at the time of his interview, the judge said she could draw an adverse inference from those claims at trial. Putting that together with the separate pieces of DNA evidence, Justice Carter said she was satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that Ebanks was one of the two men that committed the robbery.
Ebanks was remanded in custody until 9 January for the sentencing hearing.
This needs 20 years minimum so he’ll be gone for at least 10 years. Don’t want to hear about his sad childhood.
There’s a lot of aggravating factors here, so I think he’s going to be in Northward for quite a lot longer than 10 years…
What about his partner in crime?
For a crime watchlist, can we round up all the former teachers and have them list who they truly know will end up like this and put those names on there. Then makes new law, that teachers must identify and report on children who they believe will cause future problems for the community. It’s so much easier to find criminals especially if you have some background on them. The teachers know their mannerisms and personality. They see it unfiltered at schools.
It is also very clear that close family and friends won’t tell the truth. Hopefully those two (mother and gf) get charged with something.
So your best solution is to label children and teens as criminals even though they’re not? How about making failing students repeat years and not forcing them through the school system so that we end up with an uneducated populace? The career politicians have always had a long term plan for these islands and its been to create an uneducated populace and keep them ever so dependent on Government funding and hand outs.
We did not get here over night and the problem sure will not be fixed that quickly either.
We ?? Blaming politicians ? You sound like part of the same problem you’re attempting to describe. I can tell you this none of my ex girlfriends parents would ever lie to police on my behalf much less include church in the half truth in the Cayman i knew growing up. In fact those people in the society at that time would’ve been the first to turn you in !
You act as if all residents do not have a police profile anyway. You are in serious denial. Everyone on island has a police file. Everyone has something written about them. It’s just a matter of assisting the police with little details that they don’t have to waste their time investigating.
People in the community know things. Make it mandatory to protect the innocent by having criminal activity and the associates of said criminal activity on watchlists.
Deportation order for the furrener that led this poor man astray?
Don’t give these commenters any ideas
What an idiot! You will see him on the road in 2029 wearing the same outfit begging for a dollar or beer. Who wants to bet!?
How did the police know the movements of the girlfriend’s car? Genuinely curious.
I’d guess cellular triangulation. Which towers it was pinging back and forth with at a particular time.
The new license plates thats been all over news……
This was a rumor I heard but never confirmed. The technology isn’t as simple as everyone thinks it is.
The new licence plates that are being tracked by Licensing Dept. You betta know what you doing if you are a criminal and committing crimes with those TRACKED PLATES. JOHN PUBLIC was told that from the plates even arrived in Cayman. The Lill fool will be the first victim of those plates.
lol idiot
This is what you ladies learned in church SMH , So are you goin back to church now that everyone knows your nothing but hypocrite sinners ? Is Mama going to protect and lie for the next criminal her daughter shacks up with /and she will find another one , probably the one that got away is already with her . What about the baby ? doesn’t this child deserve at least a chance in life ? This whole thing is beyond disgusting !
Isn’t her testimony purgery? Shouldn’t she go to jail or something for lying? Or was it another person in the bed and she just assumed it was Ebanks?
A life thrown away for $700. I’m not going to say it’s sad because it’s more like pathetic. Hopefully when he comes out of prison he’ll have realized the mistake he made but somehow I doubt it.
It should be 10 years HARD LABOUR – chain him to the back of a garbage truck and have him empty garbage bins for 10 hours each day. This can apply to many other such prisoners and will help solve our garbage problems at no cost to the taxpayer.
The gunfight with the Popo alone should garner more than 10 years!!
couldn’t have said it any better. add to that in a residential neighborhood. can you imagine waking up to the grim reality that your child was hit by a stray bullet and died. I would demand old testament justice for that.
I’m sure this was the POS (with his accomplice) that was responsible for the home invasions earlier this year including our home. Good to see he’s being locked up but what about the next guy?
I taught him. All I can remember is a certain culture of teachers that starts with a “J” fawning over how smart he was because of his origins which encouraged him to no doubt. There is your real problem that will never be addressed in the schools. Call a spade a spade or a joker a joker and we will have less of this problem.
I’ll gotten gains don’t last and acts of violence always backfire. Make wiser choices in 2029, Odain.
What a fine example of parenting from the girlfriends Mother?
At church, LOL
It’s a cycle that continues. The mother, this guy and for certain his kid.
Why has she not been charged with perjury?
At least the girlfriend was smart enough not to perjure herself. Mother-in-law, though. What was she thinking?
(A) Hope the mother-in-law gets some penalty for apparent perjury.
(B) Hope the girlfriend gets clear of him and that life (and her mother as much as possible) because they’ll take the child down with them in the long (generational) run.
If u dnt kno wat took place dnt say anything half of the news in cayman is true n the other half is made up
Good result. Another criminal off the street.
So when is the court date for the girlfriend’s mother’s perjury trial?
10 years for $700. Divide that by two, as I presume it was split equally among the two idiots. Then minus the cut for whoever supplied them with the weapon to do this…so this fool is looking at being in prison into his thirties, for the sake of a couple of hundred dollars.
Humanity has just landed another vehicle on Mars, meanwhile this pond life has just lost his freedom for the cost of licensing a vehicle for a year.
Pond life, oh snap!! LMAO
I trust that the Judge will also take into account the trauma inflicted on the victims that is likely to continue for the rest of their lives! Also, using deadly force against law informant officers should carry a heavy sentence.
It’s unfortunate, however, that the bravery and ability of the officers will not receive the accolades when anything less is usually met with nasty vitriols. A very thankless job but for doing justice for the victims – for this reason it’s worth it!
Mother should be charged with perjury, wasting the courts time and be sent to jail as a reminder that giving false evidence to a court has serious consequences
Deportation order?
Deport where he is a caymanian!! Ppl need to wake up and realize most of our crime on island is from CAYMANIANS
where to west bay/boddent own?
Clearly he is Caymanian … only expats nationalities are disclosed before their names.
How do you deport an Ebanks?
Deport them to where? The Brac? 8;01am you so hate expats that all criminals have to be from somewhere else,not this time bobo. You are stuck with this one.
Probably one of the lucky recipients of first prize in the 2003 lottery giveaway. Was he born here or came here after 2003? Odain aint a Caymanian name fo’sure. And there are plenty Ebanks down south. I’m Caymanian before anybody says anything. 2003 effed this country in the long run. Thanks Mac you peace of ……
Shouldnt the mother be prosecuted for perjury?
One less POS on the streets.
The mother of the girlfriend needs to be charged with perjury for trying to give this punk an alibi.
What chance does cayman have with younger generations with the likes of this idiot in it?
This idiot is the by-product of lack of the country’s proper leadership. The chance for Cayman’s younger generation rests in the hands of our (or rather, lack there of) leaders.
No it does not … it rests in the hands of the parents!!
Hey, 4;15pm, where does the parents feature in all of this? or don’t they?
This lil girlfriend/baby mama and her mother need to go with this young punk to Northward as well with added 40 yrs in prison for each. Little “FOP” telling officer about he needs better target practice (comment made in a previous trial) Born criminals!
I think both should have been charged with perverting the course of justice and perjury. Cayman isn’t serious. Wake me up when we’re serious.
i want their names…
Its a girl’s hat
I would think shooting at police would be attempted murder
Add 10 more years every time he refuses to disclose the name of his partner in crime.
for once…well done rcips and dpp….
what about girlfriend and her mother?
Excellent decision. Send this trash away for a long time. Should get 12 years minimum.
Used to teach this cretin. It’s really no surprise that a) he did it , b) he got caught
The girlfriend and her mother should now be prosecuted for the lies they told. The stupid seems to run deeply amongst these people.
I pity the child!
I pity the fool!
Ten years just for the hat.
At least 10 years? You shoot at cops and we are talking about 10 years? 100 should be the minimum. 10 for the baby mama seems about right.