Witness no-show ruins murder case
Published:Tuesday | June 7, 2022 | 12:07 AM
A man accused of being among a group of heavily armed attackers who stormed a home in 2016, killing a resident and wounding his stepdaughter, was freed of murder and gun charges in the Home Circuit Court on Monday.
The defendant, Wayne Allen, otherwise called ‘Roachie’, was arrested in 2017 and charged with murder, conspiracy to murder, illegal possession of firearm, and illegal possession of ammunition.
The 40-year-old was implicated in the murder of Derrick Findlay, also known as ‘Brownman’, of Harvey Road in Kingston.
However, before Monday’s start of the judge-alone trial in the High Court, the prosecutor notified Justice Leighton Pusey that the Crown was unable to mount a viable case as it could not locate the main witness.
As a result, the judge formally offered a not-guilty verdict on the four charges against Allen.
Allegations in the case were that on December 24, about 9:30 p.m., Allen, along with other persons armed with handguns and high-powered weapons, entered Findlay’s yard. They kicked open his door and shot him in the head, killing him on the spot.
Findlay’s stepdaughter, who was present during the alleged attack, was shot in her buttocks.
The men then allegedly escaped on foot.
Police transported the young girl to the Kingston Public Hospital where she was admitted and underwent surgery while Findlay was pronounced dead on the scene by a doctor.
Following an investigation, Allen was arrested in March 2017 during a police operation in Kidd Lane and charged following a question-and-answer session.
Senior defence counsel Lloyd McFarlane and his junior, Russell Stewart, represented the defendant.