Court Of Appeal Sets Aside Shooting Conviction
The Court of Appeal has ruled that Stacey Robinson’s conviction should be set aside, saying the “case against the Appellant on joint enterprise was extremely thin…”
Stacey Robinson was initially convicted of being involved in a shooting that occurred in April 2014 in St Davids that resulted in Lionel Thomas Jr being injured.
The Court ruling said, “On the 13th of May of this year Stacey Robinson was convicted by a majority of 9 to 3 of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm contrary to section 305A of the Criminal Code and by the same majority of using a firearm to commit that offence contrary section 26A of the Firearms Act 1973. He appeals against conviction.
“There were originally three other defendants who are not involved in this appeal. Shannon Dill pleaded guilty to the same two offences. Shelton Baker was acquitted of those two offences and Roshuntae Davis was acquitted of being an accessory after the fact by assisting the defendant Dill after he had committed the offence.
“The facts of the case can be relatively shortly stated: The victim Lionel Thomas Junior lives at 7 Cove Valley Lane, St. David’s with his parents. On Tuesday 29th April 2014, he was out during the day, but was dropped off by someone else at his house at about 2:00 in the early hours of the following morning.
“He went into his house and had arranged for his girlfriend to join him there. She arrived about a quarter of an hour later at roughly 2:15 a.m. When she arrived he went out and directed her to the parking area at the top of Smith Hill because there was no available parking any closer.
“There he noticed a black Volkswagen which was parked without any number plates either front or rear. It had not been there when he arrived home. He helped his girlfriend to park, got out of her vehicle and then noticed three or so figures going in the direction of his door. He took off his chains and gave them to his girlfriend and then went to investigate.
“The next thing that happened was he saw a silhouette of three persons in his neighbour’s yard moving in the direction of the Volkswagen that he’d earlier noticed. He asked, perhaps foolishly in the light of events that occurred subsequently, if they were trying to rob him.
“The response was two or three gunshots from which he sustained two leg wounds. He was subsequently taken to hospital. His girlfriend heard arguing followed by one shot and then two more shots. She saw at least three people, one of whom was a girl. She noticed the Volkswagen which the three or more people were close to but they left it behind.
“Neither the victim nor his girlfriend was able to identify any of the shooter or his associates. The victim knew of no reason why the Appellant or any of the former defendants, or indeed anyone, should want to shoot him.”
“The Crown’s case as described in the Summing Up was based on joint enterprise,” the ruling said, adding that “in our judgment the case against the Appellant on joint enterprise was extremely thin…”
“In these circumstances we have come to the conclusion that Stacey Robinson’s conviction for these two offences cannot be regarded as safe and therefore the appeal should be allowed and the conviction set aside.”
The full Court ruling follows below [PDF here]:
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