Expert reveals CCTV clues to shooting
An expert in analysing pictures from security cameras told a jury about the clothing and guns belonging to two men who shot Raymond (Yankee) Rawlins dead.Clive Burchett used his experience to interpret footage from inside and outside the Spinning Wheel nightclub on Court Street, where Mr Rawlins, 47, was murdered in the early hours of August 9 2010.David Cox, 31, from Smith’s, is on trial accused of being one of the gunmen.According to evidence from eyewitness Michael Parsons, Mr Cox wore a blue rainjacket with the hood pulled over his face, but he recognised him by his eyes.Mr Parsons told the trial last week that he did not see the second gunman during the murder, which took place “very fast” as Mr Rawlins walked into the foyer of the club.Yesterday, Mr Burchett referred to the gunman in the blue rainjacket, who is alleged to be Mr Cox, as “man A” in the CCTV camera footage. He referred to the second man as “man B.”He told the jury the gunmen were rear-seat passengers in a car that travelled north down Court Street, Pembroke. They jumped out of the back and ran into the club while the driver remained at the wheel.Man A entered the club ahead of man B, and according to Mr Burchett, carried a handgun that appeared to be a self-loading pistol. He looked to be right-handed.Mr Burchett said man A was a dark-skinned person who wore a blue rain-type jacket with a hood and a logo on the chest “broadly consistent with an Adidas-type logo”.He said the appearance of the hood, pulled over the man’s head, suggested it either had a strengthening wire inside it or he was wearing a hat underneath. It was not possible to see a hat in the pictures, however.The man wore light-toned gloves, dark baggy bottoms and light shoes.Mr Burchett said it was hard to determine his height as the camera in the club pointed down at the scene from a steep angle. However, he estimated him to be around 5 ft 10 ins tall when wearing footwear and headwear.The jury in the trial has previously heard that DNA belonging to Mr Cox was found, along with gunshot residue, on a baseball cap recovered from the scene.Armed police officer Terry Trott said an unidentified person at the scene after the killing claimed the baseball cap belonged to “the person who’s responsible for the shooting”.Quizzed by defence lawyer John Perry QC yesterday, Mr Burchett said he could not see anything that looked like a cap lying on Court Street on the CCTV footage.He said man B was wearing a dark-toned baseball cap, which remained on his head as he left the scene. However, he disagreed with Mr Perry’s suggestion there was “really no support that man A is wearing a baseball cap”.He said there is “limited support” for the idea, due to the shape of the hood, but he cannot tell what type of hat.Mr Burchett went on to describe man B, who he said wielded a handgun that looked like a revolver. His dark-toned baseball cap had a straight-sided peak and he also wore a dark jacket with an elasticated waist and cuffs and multi-coloured badges on the sleeves and front. He also wore plain light-coloured gloves and dark footwear.The moment of the killing itself was not caught on the images, and Mr Burchett described this as “a brief off-screen incident which was not viewed”.Afterwards, he said, the two men exited the club and got back in the car which headed north along Court Street before turning off right down a side road.Mr Cox denies premeditated murder and using a firearm to commit murder and the case continues.
Firearms used to murder Raymond Troy (Yankee) Rawlins have been connected with eight other gun incidents on the Island, including the shooting deaths of James Lawes and Kimwandae Walker.
Supreme Court yesterday heard evidence in the trial of David Cox, 31, accused of being one of two gunmen who shot Mr Rawlins as he entered the Spinning Wheel nightclub on Court Street, Pembroke last August.
Gun expert Dennis McGuire told the court he examined projectiles and cartridge cases belonging to a 9mm automatic Smith and Wesson firearm, which could be matched to five other open cases on the Island.
Articles tested from a 38 calibre Rexio Revolver could not be matched to any past cases, however they have been subsequently linked to three other firearms incidents in Bermuda, he said.
Mr McGuire said the Argentinian revolver hadn't been produced by the factory for some years and added: “They are few and far in between that you find them”.
Detective Constable Vernell Burgess said the automatic weapon was used in the shootings of Jermain Lovell and Kenneth Caines in the Rubber Tree area of Middletown on November 6.
It was also used in a firearms incident on March 17 last year on Curving Avenue in Pembroke, where no one was shot; and in the attempted murder of teenager Michela Outerbridge who was injured in a drive-by shooting on Easter Sunday in 2010.
The gun has also been linked to the murder of James Lawes on Dundonald Street in Pembroke on March 19 last year; and the shooting death of Kimwandae Walker near Victor Scott Primary School on April 2.
Meanwhile the revolver used in Mr Rawlins' shooting has been linked to the attempted murder of Jeremiah Dill on October 4 last year; a shooting on October 16 last year on Overview Hill in Pembroke; and the attempted murder of Jari Fischbacher on November 24 on Spanish Point Road in Pembroke.
Only one man has been brought before the courts and charged for any of these incidents, which is in the case of Mr Dill's attempted murder.
During questioning from prosecutor Cindy Clarke, Det Con Burgess said gang members often shared the same weapons as they don't have access to multiple firearms.
The officer, attached to the Serious Crime Unit, said all the incidents took place in Pembroke and said the area “is known to be frequented by the Parkside gang”.
Prosecutor Takiyah Burgess said in her opening speech in Mr Cox's trial that the jury may hear evidence of an ongoing feud between rival gangs known as 42 and Parkside.
She said they may also hear that Mr Cox is a member of the 42 gang and that Court Street is an area where Parkside tend to hang out and frequent.
Mr Cox denies premeditated murder and using a gun to commit murder. He is the only person on trial and the case continues before Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves.