The murder trial of two men accused of shooting Sven Connor multiple times in his East End home in December has been delayed due to the unavailability of a key prosecution witness.
Connor, who was also known as ‘Dapper’ or ‘Daps’, was shot shortly after 10pm on Thursday, 7 Dec. 2023 in East End. The weapon used to kill Connor has not been recovered by police.
Appearing before the Grand Court on Friday 15 March, prosecutor Sarah Lewis told Justice Cheryll Richards that her office became aware of scheduling conflicts with the police officer who was due to give evidence during the trial.
“The officer will unavoidably be out of the jurisdiction at the time of the trial which is slated for 19 August,” said Lewis, who proposed a new date be selected for September.
Antascio Rankine and Rolan Welcome both face one count each of murder and possession of an unlicensed firearm – which they both denied during a court appearance in February.
Both men are alleged to have shot Connor in his East End home after a heated dispute – the cause of which is still not clear.
Though the application to shift the trial date went largely unchallenged, Welcome’s attorney Keith Myers urged the courts to ask the prosecution to ensure they proceed as planned.
“This is the third time that a trial date is being set in these proceedings,” said Myers. “First it was July, then it was August, now it is being moved to September… we appreciate that nothing is ever truly set in stone but we ask the prosecution stick to this new date as close as possible.”
The three-week jury trial has now been set for 16 Sept. Both defendants remain in custody.
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