Trial opens in child murder

(CNS): A 25-year-old West Bay man faced five counts in relation to the killing of 4-year-old Jeremiah Barnes in February 2010 as the prosecution opened its case Friday afternoon. Devon Anglin is charged with the fatal shooting of the child as well as the attempted murder of Andy Barnes, who, the crown says, was the intended target. The third count is for possession of an unlicensed firearm and two other counts relate to an incident in January 2010, when the prosecution claims Anglin had previously threatened to kill Barnes at a West Bay shopping plaza. Opening for the prosecution, Andrew Radcliffe QC told the court the crown’s case was based on both eyewitness and circumstantial evidence.

During his opening statement to Justice Cooke, who is trying the case alone, Radcliffe said that Devon Anglin had arrived at the Esso gas station in West Bay on the evening of 15 February a few minutes before 8pm in a grey vehicle, which was driven into the station and parked behind the gas station shop.

CCTV footage shown to the judge shows a fully masked man fire several times at the white car, which was at the gas station pumps and was being driven by Barnes. The vehicle contained his two sons and the children’s mother, Dorlisa Ebanks. The 4-year-old child was killed when one of the bullets fired by the gunman missed his father by inches but passed through the head rest of the driver’s seat and hit Jeremiah, who was sitting directly behind the driver’s seat, in the head.

Radcliffe said that both Barnes and Ebanks will testify that they recognised Anglin as the gunman, despite the mask, from his distinctive eyes and walk. The QC representing the director of public prosecutions said that a CCTV expert will explain to the court that the images are distorted and that the killer was not completely masked as appears at first glance in the video.

The prosecutor stated that Anglin was seen in the grey car without a shirt shortly after the shooting by other witnesses who would be called to the stand during the trial. Radcliffe said the crown would present other circumstantial evidence, including gunshot residue found on Anglin’s clothes, which were taken from him later that night when he was arrested, all of which, he said, point to the defendant being the killer.

The previous incident in which the crown says Anglin had threatened to kill Barnes, while implying he was armed, took place two weeks before the murder of Jeremiah. This also supports the case, the crown said, that the defendant had intended to kill Barnes over what the QC claimed were matters of disloyalty after the two men who were once friends had become enemies.

The trial, which is being heard without a jury, will continue Monday when the crown is expected to call Jeremiah’s parents to the stand.