A 38-year-old this morning denied charges of murdering Gary “Fingas” Cann in a 2009 shooting.

Appearing in Supreme Court during the May arraignments, Jermaine Simmons pleaded not guilty to the premeditated murder of Mr Cann. He further denied a second charge of using a firearm to commit an indictable offence in connection to the same shooting.

Mr Cann was gunned down on December 15, 2009, at the home of his girlfriend on Sound View Road in Somerset. He was 22 years old at the time of his death.

A second man, 24-year-old Zakai Cann, has also been charged in connection to the murder. It is understood that the Crown is seeking to take both men to trial at the same time. A trial date early next month was set, but the matter may return to the Supreme Court later this month.

Also appearing during the session were seven men and one woman charged together with conspiracy to import cannabis.

John Jefferis, brothers Corte and Iman Gibbons, Damon Edwards, Shannon Trott, Darrin Virgil, Dina Tucker and Brian Anderson were all charged with conspiring with others not before the court between an unknown date and November 13, 2012, to import the controlled drug.

Mr Jefferis, both Gibbons brothers and Mr Edwards are further charged with a second count of conspiring to import the drug.

And the Gibbons brothers, Mr Edwards and Mr Trott are charged with allowing a property on Lighthouse Lane to be used for illegal activity.

Corte Gibbons, Mr Edwards, Mr Trott, Mr Virgil, Ms Tucker and Mr Anderson denied all offences against them, while Mr Jefferis and Iman Gibbons refused to enter a plea. In both of their cases, Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves entered not guilty pleas.

All eight defendants were released on bail, with the matter set to be mentioned in the courts at next month’s arraignments session.