Kevin Smith spoke in tongues, detective testifies

A detective constable testified on Thursday that Kevin Smith, the now deceased pastor of Pathways International Restoration Kingdom Ministries in Albion, St James, refused to speak to him on the night of October 17, 2021 when the clergyman was alleged to have killed a male member of his church and ordered another to cut the throat of 39-year-old Taneka Gardner, who was also a member of his flock. The detective constable is the seventh witness to take the stand in the murder trial of Andre Ruddock, who is accused of killing Gardner, allegedly on Pastor Smith’s command. While Smith refused to engage the detective constable in conversation, it was a different story with Ruddock, who was allegedly eager to speak about the shocking events that unfolded at the church on the night. According to the investigator, both Smith and Ruddock were wearing nothing but briefs while they were handcuffed and seated on the ground, in the driveway, close to the entrance gate of the premises. “I spoke to Kevin Smith but he didn’t speak to me. Instead, gate of the premises. “I spoke to Kevin Smith but he didn’t speak to me. Instead, he started talking in a loud voice, in a way I couldn’t understand. It was like when someone was talking in tongues in a church. I informed both Andre Ruddock and Kevin Smith that they would be taken into custody under reasonable suspicion of double murder and wounding with intent. I caused them to be taken to the Montego Bay Police Station lockup,” the detective said. In relation to Ruddock, the detective explained that he was more cooperative than Smith. The cop testified that he spoke to Ruddock before his futile attempt to talk with Smith. He said that after completing a walkthrough of the church property where the bizarre events unfolded he went to Ruddock, lifted him from off the ground, and took him to an area of the premises where Smith could not hear their conversation. “After completing the walkthrough and speaking to the detective inspector I came back to where Andre Ruddock was by the big gate. I introduced myself to him and took him up from where he was by the big gate and took him to the area I described as a bathroom right next to the fencing,” the detective constable testified. “I wanted to speak to him outside of the presence of Kevin Smith. I allowed him to put on some clothes because he was in his underpants. He stated that he had clothes nearby,” he said. He told the court that Ruddock confessed to killing Gardner by cutting her throat after receiving instructions to do so. When asked who gave the instructions, Ruddock did not say who, but looked in the direction where Pastor Smith was seated on the ground in the driveway of the church. Prosecutor Latoya Bernard showed the detective numerous photographs of the bizarre scene. He will continue to identify more photographs today when the trial resumes.