KINGSTON, Jamaica — Defence in the Vybz Kartel murder trial flipped the script on key witness Detective Patrick Linton Tuesday morning putting him under pressure for alleged “very nasty things” posted on his Facebook page.

The statement came after defence attorney Tom Tavares-Finson in the Home Circuit court asked the cop a number of questions, almost lauding him for his professionalism.

Tavares-Finson then told Kartel to stand up and asked Linton: Do you have anything against this man?

Linton responded: No, and added that all he did was to be professional in his interpretation of data, and that he had no ill will against any of the accused.

Tavares Finson then asked Linton to explain what is social media for the benefit of the jurors.

 He also asked Linton to explain what is Facebook. Linton complied.

The defence attorney then asked Linton to open his Facebook page for the court, but Linton replied that his page was private.

“Let me get to the point,” said Tavares Finson. “You have been putting some very nasty things on Facebook”. Linton remained quiet. 

Tavares-Finson requested that the court demand the opening of the Facebook page.  But Linton responded that the page was deactivated. “That must have been done this morning,” Tavares Finson responded, “because I have videos of the page.”

Tavares Finson again asked Linton to open his Facebook page. “These things can be easily hacked,” Linton responded. The court then took a break.

-- Paul Henry