He had guarded prisoners at the General Penitentiary Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre for three years and never counted on being on the other side of the cell as an inmate.

However, in 1996, Sangster was implicated in the million-dollar robbery of a Western Union branch in Spanish Town.

But after eight years of trials, imprisonment, appeals and even after the Privy Council acquitted him in 2003, he is still 'marked'.

ID-parade

In September of 1996, Sangster had been pointed out in an ID-parade, and slapped with four charges: shooting with intent, robbery with aggravation, wounding with intent and illegal possession of a firearm. Two years later, the trial ended and Sangster was sentenced to life imprisonment with parole after 30 years. The court of appeal upheld the conviction in 1998.

Nancy Anderson, his attorney at the court of appeal told THE STAR that the police never testified that they had the tape. "It was the solicitors in England that found out there was a tape," she said, adding that that the bank's security company had made two copies of the tape, gave the original to the police, gave the bank a copy and kept one.

However, in 2002, the Privy Council acquitted him when it was established from the videotape that Sangster was not even at the crime scene. When the case came back to Jamaica, he was released in September 2003.

Sangster told THE STAR that he had been working on his house in his community Gregory Park, which placed him away from the incident. However, he claims that police got a tip from someone who supposedly had a vendetta against him that he was the culprit. While the civilian witnesses did not point him out in the ID-parade, Sangster said two police witnesses did.

He recalled how isolated he felt in prison. "The other inmates would say that I am an informer and threaten me all the time," he said, "And the wardens were afraid to talk with me because the superintendent would say they are trying to smuggle things to me."

But when the isolation of prison was over, he knew a greater isolation in his life after the ordeal.

Sangster claims that he had to uproot from Gregory Park to seek employment. However this employment was short-lived when his employer discovered his past.

"My life is in a mess," he lamented, "I used to drive a truck for a man, but after just one month police who believe I am guilty went to the man and told them about what happened and he told me to leave."

He explained that the same thing happened when he worked as a watchman in a community. One word about his record and he was off the job.

Unemployment is not his only woe.

Sangster said his love-life has been affected as parents of his sweetheart have prohibited him from seeing his girlfriend of more than a year.

"I am speaking to a 20-year-old girl and one day when she came over to my house for the weekend, they say is kidnap mi kidnap her," he said.

He said he was dragged to the Spanish Town Police Station by the girl's angry parents. Sangster said that the parents had known him prior to his arrest but since he came out of prison, they cautioned their daughter to stay away from him.

When THE STAR spoke to Sangster's girlfriend she said she would not let her parent's intrusion prevent her from being with him.

"I plan to stay with him because he told me about it (prison) and I don't feel any way about it," she said.

In the meantime, Sangster has to rely on his mother, who owns a shop where he now lives. He says he will be willing to do any job, just as long as he can be paid. He said he spends his days aimlessly, helping his mother where he can and biding his time until someone will employ an ex-con.

"I love mechanic work but anything I get to do I will do it," he said.