The accused, Sheldon Tingle, brought a motion for a directed verdict of acquittal on a charge of first-degree murder at the close of the Crown's case.
The Crown alleged Tingle was a party to the planned and deliberate murder of Neeko Mitchell, having lured him from a community centre at the direction of Jermaine Dunkley, where Reshane Hayles-Wilson then shot him.
The court dismissed the application, finding that there was sufficient evidence upon which a reasonable jury, properly instructed, could return a verdict of guilty.
The ruling reiterated the legal standard for directed verdict motions, emphasizing that the trial judge's role is limited to determining if any evidence could support a conviction, taking the Crown's case at its highest, without assessing credibility or weighing evidence.
The court also noted that a prior Court of Appeal decision had affirmed the sufficiency of evidence for committal to trial, applying the same legal standard.
