Two men, whose DNA was found on a loaded gun seized by police from the centre console of a car, were denied bail by the Summary Court, after the judge ruled the provisional evidence against them was ‘strong enough’ for the charges to be sent to the Grand Court.
Both men face two counts of possession of an unlicensed firearm, following a recent traffic stop by police.
Due to the nature of the charges and ongoing investigations, the Cayman Compass is restricted from releasing the names of the men.
Appearing from the Cayman Islands Detention Centre, via video link, on Tuesday, 7 May, both men listened as their lawyers pleaded with the court for their release.
“The circumstances of this case are that my client made certain admissions to police immediately upon being stopped by officers,” Amelia Fosuhene told Chief Magistrate Angelyn Hernandez.
‘A unique case of duress’
According to Fosuhene, this was an “exceptional and unique case of duress” as her client, who she says suffers from learning disabilities, was threatened into holding the weapon by another man.
“This is a case where my client has given police a real name, told them where he can be found, and made admissions in two prepared statements,” said Fosuhene.
The Compass has redacted the name of the person said to have given Fosuhene’s client the gun.
When applying for bail, Fosuhene told the court that in addition to her client’s admissions, he was of previous good character having never been arrested before, and the gun was in his possession for an unspecified but “extremely short period of time”.
“This is a young man who, as Your Honour can see, is not a hardened criminal. He is crying right now and that was his state the entire time when I was with him,” she said.
Briefly turning her attention to the co-defendant, who is represented by Crister Brady, Fosuhene said, “My client is such a generous man that he offered him a place to stay when he had nowhere else to go. In fact, [the second defendant] currently sleeps on the floor of his house.”
When addressing the court, Brady added that his client was also a man of good character who had no previous charges and was simply a passenger in the car.
“My client states that they were coming from Batabano, where there would have been considerable amounts of DNA mixed between each other by the simplest of interactions,” Brady told the court.
He added, “So it is our case that the DNA would have been transferred while police were recovering the gun from the car.”
The court heard that the identifying evidence found on the weapon was not fingerprints, but the DNA of both men, one of whose DNA was found on a single round of ammunition that was in the loaded magazine.
Prosecution opposes bail
Prosecutor Kenneth Ferguson, in opposing bail, told the court that although there were no fingerprints, the strength of the DNA evidence was very compelling.
“The match results from the DNA evidence is in the billions, which suggests it is anything but a case of transfer,” said Ferguson.
He added, “The prepared statement also raises several questions such as who is [redacted] and why did he give [Fosuhene’s client] the gun? Did he say when he wanted the gun back, or how he would collect it? Also, why [her client], why him? How did he know to choose him of all persons and that, if caught, he wouldn’t cooperate with police?”
Ferguson told the court that in addition to the DNA evidence linking both men, the Crown opposed bail in light of the lengthy sentences that would be imposed on both men should they be convicted, along with the current level of gun crime in Cayman.
In denying both men bail, Hernandez told them, “I’ve have considered the submissions and I have heard the Crown’s position. I have noted the seriousness of the offence, the prevalence of such offences, the strength of the evidence, the penalty of conviction of such an offence, the time of day of the incident and the fact that they were driving around with a loaded firearm. So I am minded not to grant bail.”
Hernandez remanded both men into custody, and transmitted the charges to the Grand Court where they will next appear on Friday, 10 April.
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