By PAVEL BAILEY
Tribune Staff Reporter
pbailey@tribunemedia.net
TWO sharply different versions of the same night were laid before a Supreme Court jury yesterday as lawyers delivered closing arguments in the 2021 Milton Street mass shooting trial.
One story, the defence said, was riddled with contradictions and police pressure. The other, the prosecution insisted, was clear proof of guilt.
Zevargo Gaitor, 26, is accused of shooting and killing Elvardo Deveaux, 22, on June 4, 2021. He also faces four counts of attempted murder in relation to Kevin Solomon, Jameson Jacob, Glen White and Justton Campbell.
Before Justice Renae McKay, defence attorney James Thompson told jurors that the case against his client was fabricated. He argued that key witnesses gave conflicting evidence and that no weapon was ever found in Gaitor’s possession.
Mr Thompson said Jameson Jacob, who was shot in the leg that night, admitted he never saw the shooter. He argued that Jacob was never shown a photograph of the suspect vehicle allegedly recovered on Fowler Street. The defence claimed Jacob was given a blank sheet of paper and told by officers to sign it.
Mr Thompson said Jacob’s testimony contradicted police accounts of the shooting. He also suggested that an anonymous witness was pressured by police to implicate Gaitor and that the story told in court was fabricated. He described the witness as timid on the stand, making little eye contact, and appearing traumatised.
The defence further argued that no Draco firearm or ammunition was recovered from the defendant, that Gaitor never agreed to participate in an identification parade, and that it was unclear whether a single van was connected to the shooting.
Mr Thompson told jurors the only proper verdict on all counts was not guilty.
Prosecutor Terry Archer offered a starkly different view. He told jurors the evidence proved Gaitor was the culprit.
Mr Archer said officers recovered and photographed 23 spent casings at the scene, including 9mm and 7.62 rounds. That, he said, suggested two weapons were used. Though no gun was exhibited in court, he argued the ballistic evidence and the injuries sustained showed shots were fired at a party that night.
He said five men were injured and pointed to hospital forms as proof they were shot.
Mr Archer accused Jacob of telling many lies in court and highlighted what he called a contradiction in his testimony. Jacob said his back was turned, but also said Gaitor was not the shooter. The prosecution relied on Jacob’s earlier police statement, which said he was shot in the leg and saw a white van at the scene. That statement also recorded that Jacobs crashed on the way to the hospital and was taken there in another vehicle, and that he knew the accused.
Mr Archer questioned why police would approach a hospital patient with a blank page to sign and urged jurors not to be “fooled” when weighing the evidence.
He acknowledged that Gaitor did not consent to participate in an identification parade, though a form bearing his signature was presented. He also scrutinised the defendant’s notice of alibi, filed 13 months after the shooting, in which Gaitor said he was with a woman at Balls Alley.
The prosecution said the anonymous witness had been threatened to remain silent but testified nonetheless. According to that witness, Gaitor left the alley in a white van before the shooting and later confessed to carrying it out. The witness said they had known the defendant and were once friends. A van reportedly linked to the incident was later recovered on Fowler Street from the same alley.
Mr Archer said people are often afraid to testify in such cases and argued that the anonymous witness was willing to risk their life by taking the stand.
The prosecution declared Jacob a hostile witness after his testimony diverged from his police statement. Mr Archer said Jacob’s earlier account and the anonymous witness’s statement were similar in their description of the night’s events.
He closed by telling jurors the evidence established that Gaitor was responsible.
The trial concludes on Friday when the jury is expected to deliver its verdict.
Calnan Kelly and Valentino Bowe also appeared for the Crown.
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