A jury heard how a man accused of murder was discovered 20ft up a tree after a search with a dog unit through a wooded area of St David’s.

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.

This week, the jury heard that Mr Doeman was the pillion passenger on a motorcycle travelling west when he was fired upon near Flatts Village in the early hours of July 1, 2022.

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

As the trial continued yesterday, Sergeant Milton Hill told the court that at about 10am on July 1 he was dispatched with other armed officers to a property on Rock Oven Lane in St David’s.

He said that when they arrived on the scene, he saw two men who appeared to be washing a car outside the home.

“From my recollection, the car doors were open and the floor mats were outside of the vehicle, just outside the doors,” Sergeant Hill said.

He said that he and another officer detained the two men, one of whom had rags in his hands, while other officers went into the house.

Sergeant Hill said he later saw Mr Burgess being taken from the property.

Acting on information received, he said he and another officer went to the rear of the property where they saw a hole in a chain-link fence, which led to St David’s Road.

“It was large enough that you could fit a motorcycle through,” he said. “It could have been a back entrance to the Rock Oven Lane residences.”

Sergeant Hill said he met Pc Andrew Rollins, a dog handler, and they began a search of a wooded area near the junction with Pepper Hall Road.

“At that time the canine, Rusty, had a strong track where he appeared to be tracking a scent,” he said. “We searched the wooded area and at a certain point Rusty appeared to not be tracking any further.”

They continued to search the area until the officers discovered a male around 20ft up a tree near where the dog had appeared to stop tracking.

The officers ordered the man, who later identified himself as Mr Anderson, to get out of the tree and he complied.

On cross examination, Sergeant Hill told the court that before getting out of the tree, Mr Anderson repeatedly urged the officer not to let the dog, a Belgian malinois, bite him.

Sergeant Hill said Mr Anderson was detained at about 11.20am and arrested.

That same afternoon, Sergeant Hill said he and other officers were dispatched to a home on Wellbottom Road in Southampton as part of the same investigation.

He said that as the officers arrived in the area, he saw a man outside who appeared to be cleaning a black Honda motorcycle, which lacked a licence plate.

Sergeant Hill said that the man, whom he identified as Mr Perinchief, had a rag in one hand and a bottle of cleaning fluid in the other.

“I exited the police vehicle and started giving commands to the male to put the items down, back away from the cycle and put his hands on his head,” he said.

Mr Perinchief complied with the instructions and was detained.

The court heard that police searched the property later. Officers seized the motorcycle, cleaning supplies, a phone and a bulletproof jacket found in the apartment.

Prosecutors have alleged that the motorcycle seized was the same one seen in CCTV footage of the fatal shooting.

The trial continues.

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