A Union Island fisherman and diver walked free from the High Court on Tuesday after being acquitted on charges of attempted murder, wounding with intent, unlawful use of a firearm, and using a firearm to aid in the commission of the offense.
Caldwell Brown was on trial for the attempted murder of Anthony Franklyn, 28, also of Union Island, wounding Franklyn with intent, unlawfully discharging a firearm at Franklyn, and using a firearm with intent to commit the murder of Franklyn.
All four offenses were allegedly committed at Union Island on November 5, 2022, stemming from the same incident.
However, following a trial that lasted about a week, a nine-member jury found Brown not guilty on all counts, after deliberating for just over two hours.
Justice Richard Floyd presided over the matter which was heard at High Court 2.
The Crown’s case was that Brown and Franklyn had an infraction, and Brown shot him. Police officers who were on patrol in proximity to the scene, proceeded there and met Brown with a cutlass standing over Franklyn.
A medical report showed that Franklyn was diagnosed with a gunshot wound to the chest. He was admitted to the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital for conservative management of chest trauma, secondary to a gunshot wound.
The firearm allegedly used to shoot Franklyn was never retrieved, and the projectile was never recovered from the complainant’s body.
According to the police, the accused told them that he shot Franklyn and threw the firearm into the sea.
Eleven .22 spent shells were found in the vicinity where the shooting was alleged to have occurred.
The accused did not take the stand or call any witnesses.
The defense’s case, led by attorney Grant Connell, denied any use of a firearm by his client, but admitted to the holding of a cutlass over Franklyn as an act of self-defense and warning, and that the accused had absolutely no intention to kill or even cause significant harm.
In his closing arguments, Connell said the investigations were incomplete. He pointed out that the only evidence to allege that his client used a firearm was from the complainant himself who told the Court that he looked back and saw the accused with what appeared to be a firearm, and he saw something sparking like a lighter, following which he saw the accused over him with what appeared to be a Glock firearm, and the accused pulled the trigger, saying, “You lucky it empty”.
Connell said, “We don’t know if there was any nexus between the .22 shells recovered from the scene, and the projectile, because the projectile was never recovered from the body.
Connell noted that the accused had also made a report to the police, in relation to the same incident. He said the police entertained the report, medical forms were issued and returned, and the file was completed and submitted, but the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) instructed the police not to proceed.
“How could that be justice”? the lawyer questioned rhetorically.
The crown’s case was led by Crown Counsel Alana Cumberbatch and Maria Jackson-Richards