Attorney says there are gaps in case against accused gangster
Published:Wednesday | July 31, 2019 | 12:24 AMNickoy Wilson/Gleaner Writer
A defence attorney yesterday asserted that the prosecution has not proven its case against accused Stephenson ‘Slim’ Bennett beyond a reasonable doubt, citing that the absence of hard evidence makes the case wholly circumstantial.
In this respect, attorney-at-law Sean Osbourne, who was yesterday presenting closing arguments on Bennett’s behalf, said that there are gaps in the Crown’s case against the alleged gang member.
“There is not enough to ground the legal standard that the Crown is putting forward,” Osbourne said as the trial for reputed gang leader Uchence Wilson and his 17 alleged cronies continued at the Home Circuit Court in downtown Kingston.
Bennett’s attorney, Vanessa Taylor, who could not be present in court yesterday, had asked Osbourne to make representation on behalf of her client.
The attorney told the court that the only physical evidence against Bennett was that of a cell phone seized from the accused. He also highlighted that there is no call data linking Bennett to the self-proclaimed former gang members.
Bennett is not listed in the indictment as a participant in the robbery at a polo ranch in St Catherine on April 25, 2015. However, he is charged with illegal possession of firearm in relation to the same incident.
Osbourne said the Crown is confused about Bennett’s alleged participation in the robbery.
Earlier in the proceedings, attorney-at-law C.J. Mitchell, who is representing accused deputy gang leader Fitzroy Scott, urged the court to dismiss the case against his client.
‘We are asking to reject outright what [the witnesses] have said about Scott,” Mitchell said.
Attorney-at-law Lloyd McFarlane completed the closing arguments on behalf of his client, reputed gang leader Uchence Wilson.
Wilson and his 17 alleged cronies are on trial for breaches of the Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organisations) Act 2014, commonly known as the Anti-Gang Legislation, between 2015 and 2017.
They are also being tried for breaches of the Firearms Act.