The jury in the trial of two men accused of killing retired prison officer Harry Elliott Jr. was unable to arrive at a unanimous verdict after deliberating for three hours on Wednesday, 1 Nov.
The panel of six men and six women has been tasked with returning either guilty or not guilty verdicts on a charge of murder or manslaughter against defendants Justin Kyle Jackson and Eric Brian Williams-Soto.
Jackson, 25, and Williams-Soto, 22, attended an illegal gambling den on the night of 25 April 2022 with intentions of robbing the organiser, Keron Cupid, a former police officer.
However, within seconds of entering the building along School Road, George Town, both men swiftly retreated and, in the process, Elliott was shot and killed.
Jackson and Williams-Soto both deny the charge of murder and possession of an unlicensed firearm.
The trial, which opened on Monday, 23 Oct., was slated to run for three weeks. However, a significant amount of agreed evidence between the defence and the prosecution helped to shorten the trial, in addition to the fact that Jackson declined to testify.
The prosecution’s case is that Jackson went to the gambling den armed, with the intention of robbing Cupid, and brought a lethal weapon with him.
According to Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Candia James-Malcolm, Jackson deliberately fired the gun for reasons unknown, and although Williams-Soto did not pull the trigger, James-Malcolm says his actions leading up to, during and after the shooting make him equally guilty.
Jackson’s attorney, Sallie Bennett-Jenkins, KC, presented a different version of events. She told jury that the shooting was accidental, and the gun went off when Jackson slipped on a mat, having changed his mind a second after entering the room.
Williams-Soto’s attorney Charles Miskin, KC, stated that his client wasn’t aware that a loaded gun was being used, and therefore wasn’t privy to the full facts of the robbery.
Williams-Soto also faces a charge of accessory to murder, which Miskin argued is also not applicable, as a key ingredient for the charge is knowledge that the victim has died. According to Williams-Soto, he only learned that Elliott died two weeks after the robbery.
Having deliberated from 11:15am to 3:15pm, with an hour’s break for lunch, the jury returned, stating they were unable to arrive at a unanimous verdict on the charges of murder and manslaughter for one of the defendants.
Justice Cheryll Richards released the panel with a return time of 10am, Thursday, 2 Nov.
Both defendants were remanded into custody.
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