West Bay men deny having gun following car crash

Cayman Islands courthouse, George Town

(CNS): Two 21-year-old men from the district of West Bay pleaded not guilty on Friday to two counts of possession of an unlicensed firearm. The charges relate to an automatic pistol and three rounds of ammunition that prosecutors claim was in the possession of both Austin Jackson and Jordan Manderson when they were arrested following a car crash in August 2013. The two men and a young woman, who was charged separately, were in a car which crashed into a utility pole by Countryside Shopping Village in Newlands.

At some point after the collision the weapon was recovered by police but charges were only recently filed against Jackson and Manderson.

A seven-day trial has been set for October this year, and while Manderson was bailed on a 24-hour curfew to his West Bay home, Jackson is currently remanded in custody at HMP Northward.