A Devonshire man will learn his fate tomorrow when the Supreme Court jury hearing his robbery trial retires to deliberate.

David Jahwell Cox has been on trial the past week for allegedly robbing Aaron Hooper on July 31, 1999 at a reggae concert at the St. David's Cricket Club field.

Cox, 21, of Gables Lane, Devonshire, denies attacking Hooper and two other men with at least ten others.

Last week Mr. Hooper told the seven-woman, five-man jury he and his friends were approached by the gang.

They passed the group but five returned and surrounded Mr. Hooper and demanded to see his ring.

Mr. Hooper struggled with the group, eventually got free and ran into the crowd where he was followed and eventually stabbed.

Marcus Shawn Bean, 21, of Cedar Avenue, Pembroke pleaded guilty to the stabbing and was remanded into custody for sentencing in January.

Charges relating to the stabbing have been dropped against Cox, while Bean denied the robbery.

Det. Con. Don Desilva said when he interviewed Cox on September 9, he implicated Bean in the stabbing and admitted taking Mr. Hooper's ring.

Det. Con. Desilva, reading from Cox's statement, told the court that Cox said he and Bean saw a "white boy'' smoking cannabis and they decided to "go get a draw''.

As they got closer, they noticed his ring and once close to him asked to see it.

When Mr. Hooper put his hand up, a struggle ensued and the ring was removed.

Later, Cox showed it to Bean at the club's bar, but that was after he saw him "punch'' Mr. Hooper in his stomach.

Mr. Hooper and his friend drove to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital for treatment of his injuries.

Cox also told Police he had lost the ring while swimming on North Shore a few weeks after the Cup Match eve incident.

When Police asked him why he took the ring, Cox replied: "I don't know.'' And when they challenged him that it was because of Mr. Hooper's race, Cox hotly denied this, saying he would also have done it to a black person.

Yesterday, Cox's lawyer Larry Mussenden, made much of the fact the statement was made without benefit of any legal advice.

In hostile cross-examination of Det. Con. Desilva, Det. Sgt. Ralph Furbert, and Sgt. Ian Moe, Mr. Mussenden cited the Bermuda Constitution's guarantee of a right to legal advice and other rights while in Police custody.

Mr. Mussenden noted that at the beginning of Cox's statement he asked to speak to his girlfriend, Samantha Knight, and he never spoke to a lawyer before giving two statements in under 48 hours.

Det. Con. Desilva said contact with Ms Knight was not allowed because it was assumed she would be Cox's alibi witness.

"How many times detective Desilva do I have to ask the question?'' Mr.

Mussenden demanded. "It's like pulling teeth! Did David Cox get legal advice while in Police custody?'' Det. Con. Desilva replied: "No, not in the way you mean.'' "But when he was arrested,'' the 15-year veteran continued, "he was advised that he is not obliged to say anything and if he does it will be taken down and could be used against him in court.

"By the time David Cox was interviewed and a statement taken, he had got free legal advice from Police,'' Det. Con. Desilva added. "We gave him legal advice when we gave him the (prisoner's rights) form. Yes, he never had a lawyer, but he never requested one.

"Let's face it, you can even get legal advice from a bum on the street or you can obtain it from Police,'' he added.

Both Det. Con. Desilva and Det. Sgt. Furbert denied offering Cox a deal during an apparent ten-minute gap between when he was taken out of a Police cell and the start of his statement.

"You told him he wasn't going anywhere and that it was Mr. Bean that you were after, didn't you,'' Mr. Mussenden asked. "You two were saying things like that he was lying. You were saying that you were going to put him back in that cell that you said is no `Waldorf-Astoria'.'' The detective replied: "No! Why would I tell him that? That's absurd. What could I base a lie on? That's untrue. We were investigating a serious crime.

"We showed him his rights under the Judge's Rules and we made no arrangements with him, that would be quite improper -- illegal even,'' Det. Con. Desilva said.

"Sgt. Furbert made it quite clear in the question and answer interview that one of his co-defendants was responsible for the stabbing,'' he added.

Prosecutor Patrick Doherty and Mr. Mussenden will begin their summations this morning.