A man accused of possessing an unlicensed firearm found hidden in a Paw Patrol backpack has told a jury he has no idea how his DNA ended up on the weapon.
Taking the stand before a Grand Court jury on Tuesday, 14 Oct., Tiquan Raheem Forbes, 24, denied any knowledge of the gun, which was found at another man’s house, or of the three other people connected to the case.
Police had found the gun – a Springfield Armory XD40 semi-automatic pistol – during a search of the house in Spotts Breeze, Newlands, on 1 June 2022.
A forensic science expert told the court that the DNA found on the weapon was “overwhelmingly” likely to be Forbes’.
The jury of six men and one woman heard that, while executing a search warrant, police had discovered the gun, along with magazines and live ammunition, inside a children’s backpack in a walk-in closet adjacent to a bedroom.
The occupant of the house subsequently pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import firearms and ammunition, and to possession of the Springfield XD40 pistol found at his home, the jury heard.
Witness: ’72 sextillion’ likelihood DNA belongs to Forbes
Forensic scientist Christian Taylor, of the Cayman Islands Forensic Science Laboratory, testified that police had sent him two swabs taken from the gun.
Following tests on one of the swabs, Taylor determined, that, although DNA from four people were found on it, there was one “major contributor”, and when compared to the defendant’s DNA, there was a 72 sextillion likelihood that it belonged to Forbes rather than another person unrelated to him (a sextillion consists of 21 zeros).
The test on the second swab determined that there was a 28 quintillion (18 zeros) chance that DNA on that was Forbes’ rather than another person, Taylor said.
Responding to questions from prosecutor Brian Treadwell, Taylor told the jury that “80-90%” of the DNA found on one of the swabs from the gun was likely to be Forbes’.
In his cross examination of Taylor, defence attorney Jonathon Hughes put forward two hypothetical scenarios – one of the gun being thrown at Forbes and him catching it quickly and then putting it down, and the other of Forbes being assaulted by being hit in the face with the gun. He asked Taylor if it was likely that Forbes’ DNA could have ended up on the gun as a result of these scenarios.
Taylor agreed that he could not rule out such scenarios as an explanation for the presence of the DNA, but said the quantity and quality of the DNA on the gun would depend on how long Forbes would have been in contact with it. He also noted that if Forbes had been struck by the gun, he would have expected to find more DNA from the person holding the gun in that scenario.
Hughes asked Taylor if he could determine where or when the DNA could have transferred to the gun, to which the forensic scientist said he could not.
Defendant: ‘I never touched the gun’
In his opening address, Treadwell had told the jury that, during Forbes’ police interview on 23 May 2024, following his arrest, the defendant had told officers in a prepared statement that he knew nothing about the gun and had never touched it.
“If my DNA is on the firearm and, as yet, I do not know any of the details, there must be an alternative explanation for it,” he said in his statement at the time, the court head.
Forbes had answered “no comment” to subsequent questions from police during the interview, Treadwell said.
When he took the stand in his defence Tuesday, Forbes reiterated that he had never seen nor handled the gun, and could not offer an explanation as to how his DNA had been found on it.
Answering questions from Hughes, Forbes said he had found it “kind of shocking” when police told him about his DNA being discovered on the weapon.
He told Hughes he had never heard of nor communicated with any of the other three people whose names were associated with the case, and had never been to the house in Newlands where the gun was found.
He said he had answered ‘no comment’ to police’s questions on the advice of his attorney.
Forbes and Taylor were the only witnesses called to give evidence in the case. Lawyers are expected to begin their summing up of the case on Wednesday, 15 Oct., when the trial resumes before Justice Cheryll Richards.
The Compass is not naming the other parties for legal reasons.
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