Log In

Reset Password
BERMUDA | RSS PODCAST

Video, gun residue evidence presented during Supreme Court trial

Gariko Benjamin (Photo by Mark Tatem)

Videos were found on accused gunman Garriko Benjamin’s phone showing men practising at a firing range, a jury heard.Mr Benjamin, 21, is on trial accused of firing a gun outside a residence in Overview Hill, Pembroke, on the morning of January 25 2011.A group of men including brothers Jahfari and Sadune Raynor and their friends Brian Batson and Rahki Paul were nearby, but were uninjured.Mr Benjamin is further accused of leading police on a high-speed chase across the Island after the shooting, having made his getaway on a scrambler bike stolen from the Raynor yard.He was arrested at his home in Sandys where, it is alleged, he threatened police and indicated that he had a gun.Officers found the scrambler bike in a room behind a locked steel door at the residence.The jury has heard that two BlackBerry cell phones were seized from Mr Benjamin at the time of his arrest.Yesterday, prosecutor Garrett Byrne shared with the Supreme Court jury evidence that had been agreed with defence lawyer Charles Richardson.That evidence showed that two videos were found on one of the cell phones. The jury watched these videos.The first showed an unidentified man firing at a shooting range, and the second showed two unidentified men firing at a range. The videos were dated August 2011.Immigration records showed that Mr Benjamin visited the United States that month, flying from Bermuda to Boston and then back from Atlanta.The jury also heard that Mr Benjamin’s hands were swabbed for gun shot residue [GSR] after his arrest, along with the handlebar grips from the bike allegedly used in the getaway and one of his cell phones.They then heard evidence from GSR expert Alison Murtha, who works for analysts RJ Lee Group in Pennsylvania.She explained that GSR is emitted from a gun when it is fired, and can land on the shooter and nearby people and objects. It can also be transferred when contaminated items touch.She told the jury that GSR is made up of three elements fused together; lead, barium and antimony.Ms Murtha reported that one particle of GSR was found on the phone and two particles on the left handlebar grip of the bike. No GSR particles were found on Mr Benjamin’s hands.The expert said traces of those elements were found individually on his hands, but not fused together as gunshot residue.Quizzed by defence lawyer Charles Richardson, Ms Murtha agreed that GSR can remain on clothing for a long time after it lands.He asked her if the GSR could have got on to the cell phone and Mr Benjamin’s clothes at a firing range in August 2011 and remained there until January 2012.She said that was possible.Mr Benjamin denies charges of possessing and unlawfully discharging a firearm, using threatening behaviour towards police and aggravated vehicle taking. The case continues.