The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A SUPREME Court jury is expected to return a verdict today in the murder trial of Dudley Seide Jr and Corderold Wallace – the two men accused of robbing and shooting businessman Leslie Maycock at the Hawksbill Mini Mart five years ago.

The prosecution and defence delivered rather lengthy closing submissions yesterday and Senior Justice Hartman Longley is expected to sum up the case this morning before turning the matter over to the jury for their deliberation.

The prosecution alleges that on July 15, 2009, both men accosted Mr Maycock in the parking lot after he had closed his business and shot him. It is further alleged that they robbed him of his black money pouch, containing $700-$900 cash, and his gold chain.

Mr Maycock, 50, was shot in the stomach. He died eight days later in hospital.

Prosecutor Erica Kemp told the jury of seven women and five men that both accused gave statements to police that put them at the crime scene on the day in question.

She noted that according to Seide’s statement, he admitted pulling out the gun on Mr Maycock and Wallace asked for the money. Seide then told the police that Mr Maycock charged at him and held onto the gun and it went off.

Mrs Kemp said that there was intent to harm Mr Maycock, because Seide had a handgun.

“When you carry a handgun, if the person resists you are going to use that handgun for your protection – the firearm affords the perpetrator protection,” she told the jury.

“We submit that Dudley Seide pulled the trigger. Seide armed himself, held up Maycock at gunpoint, and we say he intended the consequences,” Mrs Kemp said.

The lead prosecutor said pathologist Dr Ana Tancawan provided evidence that when a person is shot in the stomach you do not know where the bullet is going to go.

Mrs Kemp said because Maycock was not shot in the head or heart does not mean that he (Seide) did not intend to harm. “By virtue of the fact that he pulled out a gun and (didn’t) know where the bullet (was) going to go is intent,” she said.

She said that a witness also testified in court about being in an argument with Seide earlier on the day in question when Seide pulled out a gun.

After the robbery and shooting, she said, Seide skipped town and went to New Providence.

The prosecutor said Wallace, in his statement, puts himself at the scene telling police that he asked Seide for a ride home on July 15 and Seide went to the Hawksbill Service Station. She said he then told police that after he saw what happened, he jumped out of the car and ran off in the same direction as Seide, who gave him $75 from the pouch.

Mrs Kemp told jurors that Mr Maycock told police that two men, wearing bandanas on their faces, had accosted him. She said Maycock had also told police that the suspects were about 5’9’ and had dark complexions, and that one of the men looked like a Shorty Smith who lives in Hawksbill.

The prosecutor said lawyers representing the accused made a big deal about the description given, saying that it did not match those of the accused men. She said Mr Maycock in his mind-set after being shot, could have made a mistake. She also said he could not have identified anyone because both were wearing bandanas on their faces.

Mrs Kemp indicated that in the summer of 2009, Seide was employed in construction and mowing lawns, and Wallace was a car washer. She noted that both men have been “sun-deprived” as result of them being on remand in Her Majesty’s Prison, where Seide told the court that they are in lock down for 23.5 hours a day.

The prosecutor told jurors that the two men made up a story about being tortured on the beach by police. She said there was no evidence of injuries on the men that suggested they were brutalized by police, and the accused did not tell anyone what happened to them.

“We say the men shot Mr Maycock, that they were concerned together. Then, they painted an incredulous story, which we say was rehearsed. The Crown asks nothing of you, but justice,” she told jurors.

The defence claimed that the prosecution failed to prove the primary element of intent, which is required for a guilty verdict. They told jurors that there is no evidence that either man is guilty of the offence of murder and armed robbery.

The defence said that there is no physical evidence, witnesses, or firearm tying the men to the crime, other than statements obtained by police under “questionable circumstances.”

Osman Johnson, who represents Wallace, said Mr Maycock told police that some other person had robbed him and gave a description that does not correspond with either accused, who are taller than 5’9 and are not dark-skinned.

He told jurors that their role is not to satisfy the victim’s family. “You are here to decide on the evidence and the facts,” he stressed.

Mr Johnson claimed that it would be a further tragedy after Mr Maycock’s death if the wrong people were convicted of the crime.

He told jurors that they must not base their decision on the appearance or background of the accused men.

“If you convict on the basis where there is no evidence, no witnesses, and that the confessions are obtained under questionable circumstances, you would be setting a very worrying standard whereby persons brought before the court on a capital offence are convicted without evidence to those charges,” he said.

The trial resumes today. Simeon Brown represents Dudley Seide Jr. Desiree Ferguson, is assisting Erica Kemp.