How Two Missing Guns Landed Vybz Kartel in Prison for 13 Years
On Tuesday, August 16, 2011, Vybz Kartel invited Clive “Lizard” Williams and Lenard Chow to his house to discuss two missing guns. As they made their way to Kartel’s home, Lizard, feeling fearful, texted his girlfriend, informing her of their destination and admitting responsibility for the lost guns.
Upon arriving at Kartel’s house, Lizard and Chow pleaded for forgiveness, offering to repay Kartel for the missing firearms. During their plea, DJ Kahira Jones grabbed Lizard, prompting Chow to flee to another room. When Chow returned, he found Lizard lying motionless on the floor with André “Mad Suss” St. John standing over him, holding a building block. It was at this moment that Lizard was presumed dead.
Allegedly, Kartel and his associates dismembered Lizard’s body, rendering it untraceable to detectives. His remains have never been found.
In September 2011, Kartel was arrested at a Kingston hotel for marijuana possession, and his phones were seized. After three days in custody, he was charged with the murder of club promoter Barrington “Bossie” Burton, though he was later acquitted of that charge.
Kartel was subsequently accused of murdering Clive “Lizard” Williams. Evidence obtained from Kartel’s phones included text messages and audio recordings depicting the gruesome details of Lizard’s death. One message read: “Tween me an u a chop we chop up the bwoy Lizard fine fine,” followed by, “Yeah man a mince meat dat… As long as u live dem can never find him.” In an audio recording, Kartel allegedly ordered Shawn “Storm” Campbell to assist in the murder, saying, “You a mind reader brethren, because me nah killup myself.”
Additional evidence revealed attempts to destroy the crime scene by setting the house on fire. Despite this, investigators recovered blood stains from the site.
Following one of the longest trials in Jamaican history, Kartel and his co-conspirators were convicted in 2014. Kartel was initially sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 35 years, later reduced to 32-and-a-half years on appeal.
