A Sandys man has been found guilty of possession of a gun and ammunition after a weeklong trial.

Jomari Gooden, 25, was also found guilty yesterday of resisting arrest in the early hours of September 23 last year, near Hog Bay Park in Sandys.

He was cleared of a fourth charge of assaulting a police officer.

The jury took less than three hours to reach its verdicts, and Gooden showed no emotion as they were delivered.

The loaded weapon, which Gooden had hidden in his sweatpants, was not discovered until he had been taken to Hamilton Police Station.

Testifying at his trial last week, Gooden claimed he had obtained the gun during a scuffle with a drug dealer shortly before his arrest.

The construction worker said that, after a night of drinking and drug-taking, he drove to the area of White Hill, Sandys, to buy more drugs.

There, he met a man who agreed to sell him $150 worth of cannabis.

According to Mr Gooden, he handed over the money, but the dealer then started walking away without giving him the drugs.

During a subsequent skirmish, Mr Gooden claimed he was able to seize the gun out of the dealer’s hands before escaping on his motorcycle.

He said he headed towards Somerset while still holding the weapon, but stopped at Hog Bay Park “trying to think what to do next”.

Gooden was spotted by a police patrol and arrested after a short chase. Officers had to use a Taser on him twice before he could be apprehended.

The chase and arrest were filmed by several police officer body cameras.

The footage showed police struggling to get Gooden ― who was curled on the ground in a fetal position ― to put his hands behind his back so that he could be handcuffed.

When the arresting officers were eventually able to force Gooden to stand up, he remained hunched as he was escorted to a police car.

Prosecutor Adley Duncan had argued that this was a deliberate attempt by Gooden to keep the gun in his clothes concealed.

Police footage taken at Hamilton Police Station showed that as soon as the gun was discovered, Gooden was able to stand erect and appeared to be in no pain.

“That man was hunched up like the Hunchback of Notre Dame,” Mr Duncan told the jury in his closing statement, adding that Gooden’s version of events was “like a Hollywood movie” while his performance was “worthy of an Oscar”.

However, Marc Daniels, for the defence, said that the prosecution had failed to produce any evidence to show Gooden’s account was false.

Mr Daniels also said that Gooden was unable to tell officers about the gun because he was in pain and struggling to breathe at the time of his arrest, and was also high on drugs.

Mr Daniels had told the jury: “This is real-time emotion, fear, confusion. Everything is happening and this man is dealing with everything that’s confronting him.

“His presence of mind was out there. These are the realities. This isn’t a movie, it’s real life.”

Gooden was also charged with having a bladed weapon on the same date, but pleaded guilty to that offence before the trial got under way.

Puisne Judge Alan Richards remanded Gooden into custody. He will be sentenced on December 9 after a social inquiry report, and a drug and alcohol assessment.

• It is The Royal Gazette’s policy not to allow comments on stories regarding court cases. As we are legally liable for any libellous or defamatory comments made on our website, this move is for our protection as well as that of our readers