Mother Doesn’t “Like” Internet Threat From “Friends” of Son’s Jailed Killer

 

On Jul 17, 2014, at 5:55 AM, Jean Cockayne wrote:

Look what I found on facebook, Jahlil Ward. He is very active and although I am not an expert translating his vocabulary it seems he is still very busy in his criminal world. Do you think this is news worthy? Do you think I should send this to someone in government?

Regards, Jeanie

Jean Cockayne is keeping an eye on the killers of her son, Jamie, who was 21 when he bled to death near the Tamarind Inn in Cruz Bay after being stabbed in a confrontation with island street toughs following a bar argument on May 14, 2007.

Mrs. Cockayne didn’t know it would be so easy in the internet age.

Now the Pennsylvania woman is asking V.I. Attorney General Vincent Frazer to investigate a threatening message she received through electronic media (above) after complaining that Jahleel Ward, one of the men convicted for the fatal attack on her son Jamie and sentenced to prison for ten years, appeared to be communicating with associates outside the jail by cellular telephone on the electronic social media Facebook and “running a criminal enterprise.”

Killer’s Face on Facebook
“While searching for people on Facebook I came across a page with the name ‘Squadie Dan,’” “Mrs. Cockayne explained. “You can imagine my surprise when I saw Jahleel Ward’s photo all over the page.”

“I deduced he either had a cell phone or a laptop in jail,” she added. “I immediately forwarded a copy of his page to the Governor (V.I. Gov. John P. deJongh Jr.) and received a reply shortly after, thanking me for the information.”

“I would say within two hours the page was taken down,” she continued. “Before the page was removed I copied and pasted some of his rants.”

“One rant was particularly disturbing, it was threatening retaliation against whoever had killed Sheldon Benjamin, described as one of ‘his’ boys,” Mrs. Cockayne explained. “He (someone identifying himself as Ward) wrote for everyone of his boys taken five of them will die. He wrote of his gang ‘GMG.’ All this information was given to the Governor.”

“I then searched the gang and saw another member, ‘Duckie Dan,’” Cockayne continued. “He was brought to my attention because he threatened me (above) on the ‘Justice for Jimmy’ site (an internet site related to the January 2014 murder on St. John of James Malfetti Jr. of New Jersey). Presumably because they knew I was the one who informed on Jahleel’s illegal use of the internet to the government.”

“After I read the threat I forwarded it to the Governor and, again, that page was removed,” said Mrs. Cockayne, who added that she had not heard anything from V.I. government officials.

Mother Pressed Prosecution
Jean Cockayne publicly pressured V.I. authorities to prosecute the young island men who followed, attacked and stabbed her son Jamie before leaving him to bleed to death across the street from a church.

“Jamie had just turned 21 when Kamal (Six Pack) Thomas and Anselmo (Selmo) Boston attacked Jamie with pool cues at the Front Yard Bar,“ Mrs. Cockayne  explained in an e-mail. “The fight was broken up and they both went outside and waited for Jamie.”
(The names Six Pack, Selmo and Criminal were their nicknames (street names), she explained.)

“When Jamie came out of the bar, they picked up 2X4s (as reported by witnesses) and along with another ‘pal’ stalked Jamie up the hill toward the gas station (which is no longer there) to ‘get satisfaction,’” she added. “Jamie was heading toward his car.”

“They were interrupted by a citizen honking her horn, Mrs. Cockayne continued. “Jamie was still being followed by Jahleel (Criminal) Ward to the Fashion Palace.”

“Selmo got 15 years less time served and Six Pack got 17 less time served because he was also convicted of threatening a witness,” Mrs. Cockayne added. “Jamie’s killer received less time because of the court’s over reaching behavior.”

“Mr. Ward will be eligible for parole starting on January 24, 2013 (sic). Mr. Ward’s eligibility date was moved forward from July 24, 2013, since he committed two (2) disciplinary infractions at the Golden Grove Correctional Facility.  Mr. Boston’s parole eligibility date is January 26, 2017, and Mr. Thomas’ eligibility date is April 9, 2018,” according to a 2012 e-mail to the V.I. Attorney General’s office from a Paralegal Officer for the Parole Board.

Jail Security Questioned
Mrs. Cockayne admits she is hoping Ward’s new troubles in prison will put him back in the notorious, high-security Golden Grove Correctional Center on St. Croix – and for longer than the time he will serve for her son’s killing.

Mrs. Cockayne also wants her son’s killer under tighter security and prevented from communicating with associates outside of prison.

Ward is ensconced at the St. Thomas jail in downtown Charlotte Amalie while awaiting legal action stemming from a 2012 prison knifing and maintaining contact electronically with his associates on the outside, according to Mrs. Cockayne.

While Golden Grove authorities are cracking down on contraband and other illegal activity in the St. Croix facility under federal oversight, Mrs. Cockayne said Ward’s electronic communication with friends outside of jail shows prisoner supervision was lax in the St. Thomas facility as well.

Mother’s Relentless Monitoring
Jean Cockayne is relentless in her monitoring of the punishment of the young men found responsible for her son’s murder.

“A few things concern me,”  Cockayne said in an e-mail to St. John Tradewinds. “One is obvious; there has been no mention of the incident of Ward’s illegal use of the internet or cell phone mentioned in any newspaper.”

“(There also was) no mention of his arrest for this latest crime,” she continued. “He is being held on (St. Thomas) because he stabbed an inmate more than a year and 1/2 ago at Golden Grove in front of a guard and is awaiting trial on that charge.”

“Because of his involvement in my son Jamie’s murder, naturally I am very interested in his continued incarceration for his continuation of criminal activity,” she acknowledged.
“As for ‘Duckie Dan,’ I am convinced his real identity is known by the government because his page was also removed once the Governor was informed of his threat against my life,” Mrs. Cockayne opined about the author of the threatening post.

“I believe his threat over the internet is a federal crime,”  she continued. “Furthermore, I might suggest it is the responsibility of the governor to inform the federal agency responsible for prosecuting this type of crime.”

Meanwhile, Jean Cockayne is keeping in close contact with the V.I. Bureau of Corrections concerning the parole eligibility status of all three inmates convicted of roles in her son’s murder — Jahlil Ward, Anselmo Boston and Kamal Thomas.