A man who was accused of murdering two people at the Robin Hood Pub in October 2021 was freed by the court yesterday due to a lack of sufficient evidence tying him to the killings.

Syhon Akinstall, 22, had denied the murder of Ayinde Eve and Micah Davis, as well as the attempted murders of Troy Eve Burgess and Derrick Golding, a police sergeant.

He also denied four counts of the use of a firearm to commit an indictable offence, namely the alleged murders and alleged attempted murders.

In an extempore ruling in the Supreme Court, Acting Puisne Judge Mark Pettingill directed the jury to return a verdict of not guilty because he deemed the case a “circumstantial” one.

He told the jury that he concluded that there was no evidence “on which you can find beyond reasonable doubt” that the defendant was guilty of the shooting at the pub on Richmond Road in Pembroke.

Mr Justice Pettingill added: “This leaves you not to retire to consider your verdict. Instead, I am directing you that you must return a verdict of not guilty.”

He told Mr Akinstall that if he knew anything about the case, he must speak up about it.

He added: “ If you’re not guilty, it’s still a matter of your conscience to say something”.

Mr Justice Pettingill told Mr Akinstall: “If there is something you know, it is a matter for you.”

He then said: “You’re free to go.”

Earlier, Mr Justice Pettingill told the court that the CCTV evidence presented by the Crown, which he regarded as circumstantial, had failed to prove “any evidence against the defendant”.

In addition, he said the Crown had submitted four pieces of gunshot residue evidence, based on the argument that “the Robin Hood shooting was the only shooting to have occurred within the two days of the defendant being arrested”.

He said the Crown had further argued that a single piece of gunshot residue was found on a pair of shoes at the defendant’s residence.

Mr Justice Pettingill said it would have been “open to the jury to decide” whether the defendant was the gunman at the Robin Hood Pub and “at some point transferred” the residue to his shoes at his residence.

However, he said it would have been difficult for the jury to make a decision based on the gunshot residue evidence presented by the Crown.

Mr Justice Pettingill also noted that the Crown’s evidence on Mr Akinstall being part of a gang “amounts to hearsay” and as such it would not have assisted the jury in its decision making.

In addition, he said the gait evidence presented by the Crown could not support the identification of the defendant as the individual who committed the crime.

Mr Justice Pettingill thanked the jury for their commitment to the case and released Mr Akinstall from the courtroom.

Last January, prosecutors dropped charges against Quiana Butterfield, 27, who had been accused with Mr Akinstall of the Robin Hood murders.

•It is The Royal Gazette’s policy not to allow comments on stories regarding criminal court cases. This is to prevent any statements being published that may jeopardise the outcome of that case.