Duhaney Park man freed of gun charges after judge cites inconsistencies in testimonies of police witnesses
Published:Thursday | June 5, 2025 | 5:14 PM
A 22-year-old Duhaney Park, St Andrew man was on Wednesday freed in the Gun Court on firearm charges after the judge cited inconsistencies in the testimonies of the two police witnesses.
Charges of possession of a prohibited weapon and unauthorized possession of ammunition were dismissed against Anthony Williams, who is an electrician.
The court heard that in 2024, the police conducted an operation at a premises in Duhaney Park and that the cops found an illegal firearm in a room allegedly occupied by Williams.
Williams was among a group of men held during a police raid.
Justice Cayls Williams, in freeing Williams, cited " significant inconsistencies" in the prosecution’s case, particularly the evidence of the two police witnesses, the only witnesses for the Crown.
During the trial, Williams' attorney Patrice Riley highlighted several contradictions in the officers’ evidence.
Chief among the inconsistencies was the officers’ conflicting accounts of where Williams was seated during transportation to the police station.
One officer testified that he was seated in the front of the service vehicle, while the other insisted he was placed in the back.
The judge, in handing down the verdict, pointed to that particular contradiction, noting that it raised serious doubts about the accuracy of their overall account.
Further discrepancies emerged under cross-examination, including differences in the officers' descriptions of how they entered the premises and whether Williams was present in the room when the firearm was discovered.
Additionally, Riley also identified critical omissions in their written statements.
In contrast, the defence called one witness, whose evidence was unchallenged by the prosecution and whose evidence was found to be credible by the judge.
-Tanesha Mundle
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