Two men were found not guilty yesterday of causing grievous bodily harm and depriving a man of his liberty.

Jahni Holder and Justin Cameron, both 27, were acquitted of the charges after a Supreme Court jury reached a majority verdict following about seven hours of deliberation.

During the trial, Jamar Dill had claimed that the two slapped him repeatedly and forced him to wear a shirt soaked in lighter fluid, which he also claimed Mr Holder later set on fire.

Mr Dill also alleged that the two cut his hair and threatened other actions against him, which included locking him in a shed, violating him with a hoe handle and forcing him to eat dog faeces.

Mr Dill claimed that the supposed ordeal happened because he lost several thousand dollars worth of hashish on September 5, 2019 — four days before the alleged incident.

Charles Richardson, defending Mr Holder, pointed out several inconsistencies in Mr Dill’s story.

He highlighted how Mr Dill told police that he was instructed to throw a bag of evidence in a church dumpster near Mr Holder’s house.

Mr Dill told them later that he threw the evidence bag, which was never found, over a boundary wall near his house. He said in court that the bag had gone out with the trash.

Mr Richardson claimed that Mr Dill fabricated the story to get himself out of trouble and live a better life overseas.

He said that Mr Dill, who suffered from addiction to crack cocaine and heroin at the time, would have gone to prison for possession of cannabis resin had he not given police his story.

Mr Richardson added that he offered police a false story so that he could get a better life for his co-operation. Mr Dill admitted that his life had improved and that he had since moved overseas, got clean of drugs and received a housing allowance.

Marc Daniels, for Mr Cameron, pointed out that Mr Dill had a history of offences relating to fraud and violence, some of which were aimed at those he knew.

He said that Mr Dill’s past reflected a pattern of untrustworthiness and a willingness to turn on those who were close to him.

Mr Daniels added that his client, who had known Mr Dill for years, saw Mr Dill when he visited Mr Holder’s house on the day of the alleged incident, but only stayed to retrieve something before leaving to pick up his then infant daughter from daycare.

Mr Cameron told police later that he was “shocked” Mr Dill accused him of the offences and admitted that, while he had hit him on occasion and eventually “washed my hands of him”, he considered him a friend.

He added that he was averse to violence after he was attacked during an incident in 2019.

The Royal Gazette can also reveal that, in a separate case, a nolle prosequi — a request for an indefinite adjournment — had been made on three theft-related charges against Mr Holder.

Mr Holder had been charged in 2020 of stealing a total of $255,631 from Hazel Holder.

Cindy Clarke, the Director of Public Prosecutions, confirmed yesterday that the nolle prosequi had been made in June last year.

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