Particles characteristic of gunshot residue were found on clothing discovered outside a home where two men were arrested for murder.

A gunshot residue expert told the Supreme Court that the particles were identified on several items of clothing which police took from shopping bags left outside a St David’s home during a 2022 search.

However, the expert said she could not say how long the particles had been on the clothing — and that particles could have been transferred between the items while in the bags.

QuaZori Brangman, Jukai Burgess, Aaron Perinchief and Nasaje Anderson have denied murdering 19-year-old Letrae Doeman and using a firearm to commit an indictable offence.

Last week, the jury heard that Mr Doeman was the pillion passenger on a motorcycle travelling west when he was fired at near Flatts Village in Smith’s during the early hours of July 1, 2022.

The victim, who attempted to flee through a parking lot, was chased and shot ten times before the gunman got on to the back of a motorcycle and rode away from the scene.

Earlier this week, the court heard that police found a black trash bag, which contained two shopping bags of clothes, in an overgrown wooded area near a home in St David’s hours after the shooting.

As the trial continued yesterday, Tarah Helsel, a gunshot residue expert with the US-based RJ Lee Group, said that she had carried out tests on the clothing, along with a series of swabs taken during the course of the investigation.

She explained that when a firearm is discharged, it released a cloud of particles that land on nearby surfaces.

Ms Helsel told the court she used a scanning electron microscope to identify particles that contained lead, barium and antimony fused together by the heat of the discharge of a firearm.

She said particles with all three elements are considered “characteristic” of gunshot residue, while particles with two of the three components are considered “consistent” with gunshot residue but can also come from fireworks, brake pads or paint pigments.

Ms Helsel said that the first of the two bags she received contained a range of clothing items including gloves, socks, a jacket, a sweatshirt, a pair of knit shorts, a pair of athletic shorts, shoes and two black ski masks.

Photographs of the items were also shown to the court, including the athletic shorts, which were yellow with the number 4 on one leg.

She told the court that she was able to find three-component particles on several of the items, including a pair of knit gloves, the shoes, the jacket, the sweatshirt, the knit shorts and one of the two ski masks.

Two-component “consistent” particles, meanwhile, were found on almost all of the items in the bag.

Ms Helsel said she also checked the second bag, which contained three sweatshirts, two ski masks, gloves and a pair of shoes.

As a result of testing, three-component particles were found on all three jackets, the gloves, one of the shoes and one of the ski masks.

Ms Helsel said she went on to test swabs taken from the handlebars and pillion passenger hand grips from a Honda motorcycle, both of which were found to have two-component particles.

She then tested swabs taken from Mr Anderson’s head, ears and hands and identified two-component particles on his right palm and the back of both hands.

Ms Helsel, however, noted that the particle found on the back of his right hand also contained tin, which none of the other particles found during the investigation did.

She told the court that tin was sometimes found in ammunition produced in Eastern Europe and that if such ammunition was fired, tin could sometimes be found in gunshot residue released from the same weapon if fired again.

Under cross-examination by Marc Daniels, who is representing Mr Anderson in the trial, Ms Helsel acknowledged that she did not recall how the items were packed in the bags, but said that if the bags were jostled or thrown particles could transfer between the clothing items.

She also agreed that she could not say how or when the particles came to be on the tested items or Mr Anderson’s hands.

The jury later heard that Mr Anderson had played football for St David’s and the court was shown a team photo in which the defendant was identified wearing yellow shorts with the number 4.

Aaron Lugo, coach for the team, told the court that Mr Anderson used the jersey number 4, but confirmed that different players had also used the number.

“It’s up to the individuals to decide,” he said.

Mr Lugo also confirmed that players had posted in the team chat about lost uniform items during his time with the club.

The trial continues.

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