The accused, jointly charged with unlawful confinement and aggravated assault, brought applications to sever counts on the indictment.
One accused was additionally charged with attempted murder and several counts of possession of controlled substances for the purpose of trafficking.
The accused argued that trying the drug charges together with the violent offences would cause severe prejudice and propensity reasoning.
The court dismissed the applications, finding that the drug charges provided the context and motive for the violent offences, as the victim was a competing drug dealer.
The court held that the interests of justice favoured a single trial, and any potential prejudice could be addressed through proper jury instructions.
