The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A JURY sworn to hear evidence in an armed robbery and murder trial was excused yesterday while lawyers for the prosecution and the accused held legal discussions with the presiding judge.

Senior Justice Stephen Isaacs ordered the 12-member panel to return to the Supreme Court on Friday, March 24, as the discussions concerning the case of 29-year-old Henley Claridge were expected to last two days.

Claridge is on trial before Senior Justice Isaacs on two counts of armed robbery and a single charge of murder, alleged to have been committed on March 4, 2014.

It is claimed that he robbed Tonika Laroda and Darius Adderley of two Samsung cellular phones together valued at $600. He is further accused of intentionally killing Adderley by means of unlawful harm.

On Tuesday, the jury heard that shortly before 9pm, Adderley was sitting in his 2003 Dodge Town and Country Van on Roseland Street with a girlfriend when a masked gunman armed with a handgun robbed them.

As he was leaving, the suspect shot at the vehicle, hitting Adderley in the back. The woman was unharmed during the robbery. Adderley was taken to hospital by ambulance, but died of his injuries shortly after his arrival.

Claridge, when formally arraigned in the Supreme Court on July 4, 2014, pleaded not guilty to all three charges. He maintained that plea at the start of trial this week.

He has retained attorney Jiaram Mangra to represent him while Desiree Ferguson and Cassie Bethel represent the Crown.