A man charged with possession of a gun and ammunition was arrested after being shot with a Taser by police, a Supreme Court jury heard yesterday.

Jomari Gooden is also charged with assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest in September last year. He denies the four charges.

Opening the case for the Crown on the first day of the trial, Adley Duncan told the jury that all prosecution witnesses would be police officers.

He said that police bodycam footage of Mr Gooden’s arrest would be presented to the court.

Mr Duncan also said that the jury would see CCTV footage taken at Hamilton Police Station that showed a gun being recovered from Mr Gooden’s waistband.

He said: “These are very serious charges. In this country it is unlawful to have a gun and if a person is found with a gun, there has to be some consequences.

“There is no doubt that the firearm was recovered from the defendant’s waistband — it was captured on CCTV. But the law allows for certain defences in certain circumstances.”

Arresting officer Pc Rajiv Bailey testified that he was on duty with a colleague on Middle Road near the junction of Wreck Road in Sandys in the early hours of September 23 last year.

He said that at about 3.40am he looked east along Middle Road and saw a figure running across the road dressed in dark clothing and wearing a black motorcycle helmet with the visor down.

After seeing the suspect jump over a wall and into a hedgerow, Mr Bailey radioed for back-up and began to give chase.

He said that after being joined by two other colleagues, he eventually found the suspect lying flat in thick undergrowth near the entrance to Hog Bay Park.

The officer said: “I informed him, ‘Police. Let me see your hands’. I said it very loudly.”

According to Pc Bailey, the suspect ran back towards the road and into the driveway of a property, with the officer in pursuit.

Pc Bailey said: “I then heard a commotion coming from the rear. I heard the telltale signs of a Taser being discharged.”

The officer said he went to the rear of the house and found the suspect lying prone on the ground.

He said he tried to grab the man’s left arm, “but he was resisting, actively pulling away towards his waistband”.

Pc Bailey said: “I was trying to take control of his hands. I didn’t know why he was reaching for his waistband.”

The police officer said that with the help of colleagues, he was able to eventually handcuff the suspect, whom he identified in court as Mr Gooden.

Mr Gooden was given “medical support” after his arrest, the court heard.

Defence attorney Marc Daniels is representing Mr Gooden.

The trial, before Puisne Judge Alan Richards, continues today.

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