Sounds of sobbing and loud protests from friends and family members echoed through the Supreme Court yesterday after two men were found guilty of murdering James Cyrus Caines and were sent to prison for life.

A hush descended over the Supreme Court once word that the jury had reached a verdict spread among the packed gallery.

But when the majority guilty verdicts were pronounced and Puisne Judge Richard Ground imposed the mandatory life sentences on Teiko Furbert and Sheldon Franks, the gallery partially cleared as upset relatives and friends protested the sentence loudly.

A large Police presence, including both uniform and plain clothes officers, had to convince the protesters to calm down and stay inside the court room until the jury had left.

Before sentence was passed Franks said: "I'm innocent. I did not kill James Caines nor was I part of whatever happened.'' Furbert said nothing when asked if he had anything to say.

The verdict brought the two-and-a-half week trial to a close and brought some relief to members of the Caines family.

Caines' father Ali Sheed said: "Thank God it's over.'' Outside the court room, friends of the two murderers hugged and choked back tears as the two separate prison vans pulled up to take Furbert and Franks away under the watchful eye of Police and Prison Officers.

The jury went out to consider its verdict at 12.50 p.m. and deliberated until 5.32 p.m.

Franks was convicted by an 11 to one majority verdict while Furbert's guilt was decided with a nine to three split.

During the trial, Franks, 32, of Dundonald Street, Pembroke, pointed the finger at Furbert, 25, of Rockland's Estate, Warwick, and said that he was the one who fired the fatal shot into a home on 27 Curving Avenue on the night of July 6, 1996.

At that time Caines was in the house with three other people smoking crack cocaine and cigarettes and drinking Elephant beer and Scotch.

The bullet was fired through a screen door and struck Caines on the left side of his face. It travelled down across his windpipe out of his neck and into his right shoulder.

As a result of his injury, Caines died because blood filled his lungs and cut off his ability to breathe.

Franks and Furbert convicted The court heard that both Franks and Furbert were drug dealers and members of a "crew'' based around Curving Avenue.

One day before the murder -- July 5, 1996 -- Franks returned to his home and found that it had been broken into.

He suspected that Caines had done the deed. Similarly, Furbert blamed Caines for stealing one of his drugs packages back in 1995.

Consequently, Attorney General Elliott Mottley argued that the shooting could only be understood if those circumstances were known.

Since both Franks and Furbert believed that Caines may have been responsible for these two events, he urged the jury to accept that it formed the basis for their intention to seek justice on the night of July 6, 1996.

Based on this common understanding, he said that both men went to the house on 27 Curving Avenue seeking retribution.

When he took the stand late last week, Franks testified that he had gone to 27 Curving Avenue armed with a stick intending to beat Caines up and he was not aware that Furbert had a gun.

He said that after he walked around the house he decided against doing anything to harm Caines.

However once the shot was fired, Franks admitted that he ran around the back to see if Caines had run out of the house and the Crown seized upon this to suggest that he still wanted to cause the deceased harm.

Furthermore, the Crown said that Franks also chased Caines down Middletown Lane toward his mother's house on Union Street which underscored that he was still out to hurt Caines.

Furbert, meanwhile, did not point the finger at Franks when he testified, but he said that Franks was in the vicinity of the back door with Michael Hansey and another man when the shot was fired.

At the time Furbert said he had only went to claim his pedal cycle which he had left near a wall at the back of the alley off Curving Avenue. He said he had intended to ride off to get something to eat.

Expert testimony from a Royal Canadian Mounted Police official was a key feature of the Crown's case because gunshot residue -- the unique combination of particles discharged from a handgun when it is fired -- was found on Franks' right hand and clothing. Franks is right-handed.

Furbert also had gunshot residue on his T-shirt which meant that he could either have fired the gun or been in the vicinity when it went off.