Sykes to rule on no-case submissions in gang trial
Published:Tuesday | July 9, 2019 | 12:15 AMNickoy Wilson/Gleaner Writer
Chief Justice Bryan Sykes will next Monday rule on no-case submissions made by defence attorneys on behalf of reputed gang leader Uchence Wilson and his 20 alleged cronies last week.
The prosecution yesterday finished responding to the defence’s submissions as the trial of the alleged gang continued at the Home Circuit Court in downtown Kingston.
Making no-case submissions last week, defence attorneys argued that the evidence against their clients was weak.
They argued that the witnesses, who claimed to be former gang members, were not at some of the alleged robberies and, therefore, their testimonies would be unreliable.
However, responding to the no-case submissions, prosecutors said that their witnesses are confessed members of the alleged gang, making their evidence reliable.
They also said that lack of corroboration of what was said by the Crown’s witness does not make their evidence inadmissible.
The prosecution also stated that the absence of specific dates in witness testimony as to when offences were committed was not essential.
Seven counts on the original 53-count indictment were dropped as the prosecution said they had no evidence to support them.
Junior Rose, Shadday Beckford and Judith Johnson were released after the prosecution said it had no evidence against them.
Wilson and his 20 alleged cronies are on trial for breaches of the Anti-Gang Legislation for crimes allegedly committed between 2015 and 2017.
They are also being tried for breaches of the Firearms Act.