“Unsuspecting and defenceless” murder victim Raymond "Yankee" Rawlins was shot dead on his way to a friend's birthday party, Supreme Court heard today.Mr Rawlins, 47, was hit at close range by 16 bullets fired by two men as he walked into the party at Spinning Wheel nightclub, according to prosecutor Takiyah Burgess.David Cox, 31, of Club Road, Smith's, is on trial accused of premeditated murder and using a firearm to commit murder.Ms Burgess explained in her opening speech: “During this trial you may hear about an ongoing feud between rival gangs known as 42 and Parkside.“You may or may not hear that the defendant in the box is a member of the 42 gang. You may or may not hear that Court Street is an area where Parkside tend to hang out and frequent.”Ms Burgess said that one of Mr Cox's friends, Julian Washington, was shot at the Mid Atlantic Boat Club at 11.45pm on Sunday August 8, 2010, less than an hour before Mr Rawlins was murdered at 12.23am on August 9. Mr Cox was at the boat club at the time.“You may also hear that the Mid Atlantic Boat Club on North Shore Road is an area where the 42 gang hang out and frequent,” said the prosecutor.Mr Rawlins was attacked as he walked into Spinning Wheel, after he'd gone through the front doors and metal detector.Ms Burgess alleged that Mr Cox and another man got out of a car that had driven along Court Street and ran into the club after him.“These same men came up behind him and started to fire shots; fired at least 16 shots at the deceased,” she explained.Five bullets hit Mr Rawlins in the left side of his head, nine hit his chest and upper arm, one hit his neck, and one hit his other arm.“Immediately after firing these shots the defendant and other man ran out of the Spinning Wheel, jumped into the waiting car outside and made their escape,” she alleged.Mr Rawlins was rushed to hospital in a passer by's car but succumbed to his injuries.Ms Burgess said police collected a hat from the road at the murder scene which was found to have Mr Cox's DNA on it.She added that the getaway car was stolen earlier from the 42 gang area and found there too.A search was made of a private residence in that area and a pair of latex gloves were found that had gun shot residue and Mr Cox's DNA on them.Ms Burgess said that while two men allegedly shot at Mr Rawlins, Mr Cox is the only person on trial.“You cannot speculate why the other man is not here being tried,” she told the jury.Mr Cox denies the charges and the case continues.See tomorrow's edition of The Royal Gazette for more.