At around 4 p.m. this evening, 27 year-old Art Skeet, and 30 year-old Leonardo Cassanova - ended four years on remand and walked out of court free men after they were acquitted of murder in a trial that only lasted a day.
They were accused of the March 26, 2008 murder of the 24 year-old prison officer, Edgar Seguro.
The prosecution, represented by Crown Counsel Thalia Meagan Francis, called 6 witnesses. Today, however, she was forced to close her case when the main witness took the stand and refused to testify against the men.
This witness told the court that she couldn't recall that she gave a statement to the police, even though she signed the document. She even identified her signature when the statement was shown to her.
When the prosecution closed their case, Cassanova's attorney, Hubert Elrington, made a no-case submission due to lack of evidence, and Skeet's attorney, Carlo Mason, concurred with that submission.
Justice Herbert Lord then directed the jury to return verdicts of not guilty against both men for both murder and manslaughter. This effectively set them free after 4 years on remand.
According to police, in March 26 of 2008, Seguro was standing on Oleander Street when 2 gunmen rode up on bicycles and opened fire on him. He was shot multiple times.
It is important to note that on January 19, 2012, Art Skeet was acquitted of the murder of Herman "Yagga" Morris, which occurred 13 days before Edgar Seguro's murder - so he now gets off his second murder charge...
