"Original Gangster" Yankee Rawlins had many enemies who might want him dead, a defence lawyer suggested, urging a jury to clear a man accused of shooting at him.

However, a prosecutor said Anthony Swan, 22, had a motive to target Mr. Rawlins an associate of Parkside because of his alleged affiliation with their deadly rivals, 42.

Swan denies being the black-clad and masked gunman who opened fire at Mr. Rawlins in broad daylight on Court Street at 10.31 a.m last December 16. He is currently on trial at Supreme Court.

Mr. Rawlins was not injured, but died in a separate incident last month. Gang expert Sergeant Alexander Rollin told the jury this week the victim whose real name was Raymond Troy Rawlins was known as "Original Gangster" on the streets, which signified he'd made a name for himself.

He described Mr. Rawlins as someone involved in the drugs trade and with links to the Parkside, Middletown and Frontline gangs all of whom have committed acts of violence.

Urging the jury to find Swan not guilty yesterday, defence lawyer Marc Daniels said: "We know from Mr. Rollin that Yankee had been involved in the sale of narcotics not just for years but for decades.

"And, you may ask because Yankee seems to be a household name that most people know regardless of race, background, colour, neighbourhoods – why was he able to survive for so long in terms of his duration at the top?

"Because the evidence was that he was a kingpin on the streets."

Mr. Rawlins made a Police statement after the shooting in which he said: "I don't know why anyone would try to harm me or anyone I know.

"I guess I'm just caught in the middle of something. As far as I'm concerned I don't have any enemies, just haters."

Mr. Daniels said of this: "Why did people hate him? Was it because of the things that he did? Was it because of the way they he lived? Was it the way that way that he conducted his affairs?"

He added: "The Parkside gang does not seem to have any friends from Somerset to St. George. There appear to be enemies across the board. But the Crown seem to want to hinge their case on the fact that 42 are the main rivals to Parkside... it's not the only enemy. Not the only hater."

Swan is alleged to have arrived outside the victim's family store, C&R Discount, dressed in a dark jacket, track pants with a white stripe and a black helmet with the visor down.

Prosecutors say he was transported to the scene on the back of a black Honda bike and fired multiple shots, particularly directed at a parked white delivery van where the victim was sitting.

The shooting was captured on CCTV.

Swan was spotted by Police on St. Monica's Road, Pembroke, around 15 minutes later. He was allegedly wearing clothing similar to that of the culprit, and riding a similar bike. He led Police on a high-speed chase that ended when he crashed into a Police car on Parsons Road, tried to run off, but got arrested.

Prosecutor Carrington Mahoney commented during his speech to the jury: "What a coincidence that a person of similar height, similar build, wearing similar trousers with a stripe along the side, similar helmet, similar top, shoes with black uppers with white soles, happened to be riding a similar bike."

A black jacket was found by investigators at the crash scene, on the ground between the bike and the Police car. It was tested, and found to have a high level of gunshot residue on it, along with Swan's DNA. Investigators also seized a BlackBerry cell phone from a man named Alvone Maybury, 24, who prosecutors suggest may have been the rider of a motorcycle that conveyed Swan to and from the crime scene as a pillion passenger.

The jury has seen a short video extracted from the phone, where Swan and Maybury utter apparent threats to Parkside. Swan makes a gun gesture with his fingers while saying: "Bang bang on you b***h ass nigga."

Maybury can be heard from behind the camera saying: "Niggas are coming for you guys real soon, trust me. Yah big time."

Maybury was spotted with the Honda Scoopy bike allegedly used in the shooting in the 42 heartland of St Monica's Road less than two hours before the crime.

The BlackBerry video had been recorded four days earlier. Urging the jury to find Swan guilty, Mr. Mahoney said: "He had a motive from a gang perspective to take on the Parkside people. Remember from the evidence Rawlins has the status of O.G. I guess that's the honorary status in gangland life the equivalent to when the Queen knights you in civil society and he seemed to be, from the evidence, the real symbol of Parkside.

"So when Maybury says 'niggas are coming for you guys real soon,' lo and behold, four days later, they did."

However, defence lawyer Mr. Daniels cast doubt on the circumstantial evidence in the case, suggesting the jury could not be sure Swan was the culprit. He said of the CCTV: "The image is unclear. It's not black and white but it's certainly not Blue Ray DVD quality. It's not high definition. You might say it's a bit shoddy, a bit sketchy."

He suggested the shooter looks to be several inches shorter than the accused, and that the clothes do not look the same as those Swan wore that day.

He noted that just because someone has gun shot residue on their clothes, it does not mean they have shot anyone. And he said while Swan's behaviour in the cell phone video is "rude and crass" it does not mean he's guilty of a shooting.

Mr. Daniels also suggested Mr. Rawlins may have operated as a Police informant, and implied the Police may have tried to frame Swan over the shooting.

"Is there some kind of cover up going on? Some kind of conspiracy going on here?" he asked during his speech.

Swan denies a string of charges including shooting at Mr. Rawlins with intent to do grievous bodily harm. A verdict in the case is expected today.