Man freed of gun charges after judge rules not enough evidence for a trial
Published:Tuesday | June 13, 2023 | 4:46 PM
A judge has ruled that the evidence presented by prosecutors in the case of a St Andrew man facing criminal charges related to a 2018 murder is not sufficient for the case to be sent to the High Court for a trial.
Ruel Young, 45, who is from the Whitehall Avenue area, was arrested and charged in July last year with murder as well as illegal possession of firearm and ammunition arising from the shooting death of another man.
The ruling means that the charges are dismissed, but can be reinstated if the police uncover additional evidence.
It came at the end of a committal proceedings hearing in the Corporate Area Criminal Court on Tuesday.
A judge is empowered under the Committal Proceedings Act to conduct a review of the evidence against persons accused of serious crimes to determine if a prima facie case has been established.
If a prima facie case is established the case is then transferred to the circuit court for a trial.
Donnovan Collins, the attorney who represented Young, said the ruling in his client's favour was “the correct thing to do”.
“There is nothing in those witness statements that's sufficient to establish a case against my client for murder,” he told The Gleaner, summarising the substance of his submissions in court.
“When there are cases that lack evidence the correct thing to do is to end the case right there and not send them to the circuit courts to waste judicial time,” he added, pointing to the backlog of cases in the High Courts.
Omar Johnson was found lying face down on Sullivan Avenue, in St Andrew, with gunshot wounds to his back after residents reported hearing loud explosions on April 26, 2018. He later died at the Kingston Public Hospital.
Young, who has maintained his innocence, surrendered to the police on July 1 last year and was formally charged four days later.
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