The prosecution has called on the jury to return guilty verdicts on charges of murder and possession of an unlicensed firearm against two men accused of killing retired prison officer Harry Elliott Jr., who died in a “robbery gone wrong”.
While summing up the Crown’s case on Monday, 30 Oct., Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Candia James-Malcolm told the jury “they need not doubt what they saw with their own eyes” before replaying the robbery that was caught on CCTV.
The 25-second video clip shows the moment Justin Kyle Jackson and Eric Brian Williams-Soto entered the illegal gambling den intending to rob the organiser. Both men accept that they attended the location to rob but deny the charges of murder and possession of an unlicensed firearm.
Jackson, 25, entered the shop without a mask; a couple of feet behind him was Williams-Soto, 22, whose face was covered by a hoodie.
In CCTV, Jackson can be seen removing a handgun from the waist of his jeans, loading the chamber and then opening fire one second later, releasing one shot that struck and killed Elliott.
“Those are the actions of a man who was ready and clearly willing to fire that gun if he perceived any resistance to his plan to rob,” said James-Malcolm.
She added, “You want to know whether the gun functioned, look at the autopsy results… look at the bullet that entered Mr. Harry’s head and never exited.”
Elliott, 62, was shot at close range in the gambling den off School Road, George Town, on the night of 25 April 2022.
Although Jackson chose not to give evidence, his defence counsel, Sallie Bennett-Jenkins, KC, said the incident was an “accident” and that the shooting was not intentional, worsened by the weather conditions of the night – a matter James-Malcolm said is of no consequence.
“Maybe he was tired, maybe he was trigger-happy,” she said. “But that doesn’t change the fact that he fired a deliberate shot… nothing has arisen on the evidence of this case [that] should convince you that this was an accidental shooting.”
‘Partner in crime’
Turning her attention to Williams-Soto, James-Malcolm called on the jury to return an equal count of guilty although he didn’t pull the trigger, as he was “a partner in the crime, not by happenstance but by design”.
“He was not a passive observer, he was an active participant fully privy to the presence and use of a loaded weapon,” she said.
“You may be thinking, ‘He didn’t pull the trigger, so why is he responsible’,” she said to the jury. “That’s because he was party to the plan, he knew that a gun would be used, and he is just as responsible for all of the actions which flowed from that plan to rob.”
The jury was asked not to trust Williams-Soto, who James-Malcolm said lied to police to save himself.
“Mr. Soto is lying to you and those lies aren’t the only lies he has told,” said James-Malcolm. “He gave a prepared statement saying he didn’t know anything about the murder, and he couldn’t assist police with the investigations.”
Williams-Soto told the court that he had never met Cain Thomas, the alleged getaway driver, until the day of the incident and that Thomas and a fourth unknown man were the masterminds behind the robbery. Thomas was killed a few days after the robbery.
When asked if he knew the details of the robbery, such as the location, the victim, the location of the cash, and his share from the crime, Williams-Soto said he didn’t know, saying instead that he had willingly participated with the hopes of getting extra cash to buy clothes and shoes.
When calling on the jury to return guilty verdicts, James-Malcolm said, “These two men had a plan, whether or not it was their own plan or masterminded by someone else who is not here to speak for himself, they chose to execute this plan.”
She added, “This was a planned operation… Eric Brian Williams-Soto went along with his partner Mr. Jackson fortified in the knowledge that he had a gun. He didn’t turn and run and all of his actions post the criminal act deny all facade of innocence.”
The defence is expected to make its closing statements Tuesday.
Both defendants were remanded into custody.
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