Lance Welch and Jermaine Matura were acquitted of 2 counts of Attempted Murder today in the Court room of Justice Herbert Lord. It was alleged that IN April of 2009, at about 8:15 p.m., Glen Burgess and Keon Francis were on Kraal Road, when Matura and Welch ambushed both men. They each reportedly pulled out firearms and fired several shots at both men, but they missed. 3 days later, Burgess made a report against them.
But yesterday in court Burgess took the stand and recanted the entire statement with all the facts that he had given to the police. Burgess forgot that he gave a written, signed statement, and he even went as far as to say that he never gave one period. Crown Counsel Francis was forced to treat Burgess as a hostile witness, but in the end, she could not get any usable evidence against the accused men.
This morning, the court called for Keon Francis, the other man who was allegedly shot at, but when he didn't show up to testify, the prosecution was forced to close its case.
Justice Lord then directed the jury to find both men not guilty of both counts, and as a result the men were acquitted. They were not allowed to leave the court freely, however, because they are currently on remand for other charges which have not yet been heard.
