The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A JURY absolved a man of any involvement in a fatal shooting nearly four years ago when they returned a not guilty verdict yesterday afternoon.

The 12-member jury was also allowed to deliberate on a verdict of manslaughter if they arrived at the view that 24-year-old Patrickedo Rose did not intentionally murder Stephen Davis on October 22, 2011, near the Juju nightclub in Fox Hill.

Rose, who is otherwise known as “Rider”, had pleaded not guilty to the murder charge at his trial before Acting Supreme Court Justice Cheryl Bethell. The trial lasted a little more than a month.

The prosecution alleged that Rose gave a confession to police placing himself at the scene where he allegedly fired two shots. Rose claimed that he was beaten by police to confess to involvement in a crime he did not commit.

The jury returned 11-1 not guilty verdicts on both counts.

During the trial, the jury heard from police that they interviewed and recorded a statement from Rose on December 10, 2012. After waiving his right to a lawyer, Rose allegedly told the officers that he was with Rashad Sullivan when he shot Davis. Rose allegedly admitted to also being armed, but he claimed that he “just fired a shot in the air”.

The following day, Rose directed a team of officers to the crime scene, which was also videotaped.

In closing arguments to the jury on Monday, defence lawyer Romona Farquharson-Seymour asked if they truly believed a man, arrested 14 months after a murder, would confess to having involvement unless forced to do so.

She argued that even if they didn’t believe her client’s claim that he was brutalised, the statements to police themselves did not amount to murder.

Prosecutor Linda Evans countered that it was not logical for the police to brutalise someone for a confession statement that only placed a person on the scene and firing shots into the air instead of at the deceased.

Despite the acquittal, Rose was remanded to the Department of Correctional Services as he has a pending matter before the courts.