Jury acquits local man in shotgun case
Cayman Islands courthouse
(CNS): A jury deliberated for just two hours Tuesday before acquitting a 46-year-old man from West Bay of possessing an unlicensed shotgun, despite what the crown had said was overwhelming evidence. Tonie Elford Bush, who defended himself, was arrested last November following a police raid at his home in Daisy Lane, where he lived with his mother. Officers found a loaded Remington pump-action shotgun and ammunition stuffed under sofa cushions in a room where Bush slept. His DNA was also found on the weapon and the cartridges.
Bush, however, successfully raised enough doubt with the jury to be acquitted of a charge for whcih he would have served a ten-year mandatory minimum sentence. Without the help of any defence attorneys, having turned down a legal aid funded lawyer, Bush was able to shake the crown’s case and suggested that the shotgun had been placed there by the uniform support officers who raided his home or another member of his family.
At the time of his arrest, the police also arrested Bush’s 83-year-old mother.
He said that the DNA could have made it on to the weapon as a result of transfer from the police or by someone else, since it was on the sofa where he sometimes slept. Bush had stated that there were numerous people in his home the night before the raid.
As the jury’s not guilty verdict was delivered by the foreman, Bush jumped up from his seat in the dock and punched the air shouting, “Yes Rastafari!”
Despite his delight, he has not been released from custody because he still has other charges pending and is due to face another trial later this year for an unrelated matter.
No stranger to the courts, Bush has a long list of convictions, though none relating to gun charges. He also successfully defended himself in the Grand Court last summer, when another jury took just 25 minutes to find him not guilty of breaking into a home in Hell Road and stealing a PlayStation.
During this trial, which started last week, the jury heard that the weapon that was found at Bush’s home was stolen in a previous burglary in the district, but he denied having any knowledge of the weapon and implied that he was being set up by the RCIPS.
According to the crown’s case and witness evidence given by police, none of the officers who arrested and touched Bush were involved in the search of his room that yielded the pump-action weapon. The prosecutor had suggested that the police officers believed Bush was essentially caught red-handed with an illegal firearm in his home when they turned up at his house in the early morning of 5 November. Realising that the police were outside, he had shoved the weapon under the sofa and then claimed to know nothing about it, the crown had suggested.
The judge took time to point out to the jury the amount of effort that would have been required by the officers involved to set Bush up by sneaking the weapon into his home, putting it under the cushions and ensuring his DNA was on the ammunition inside the gun as well as on the weapon itself and sneak it into his home ahead of the raid.
Nevertheless, Bush, who did not take the stand, made a determined effort in his own defence, cross-examining the crown’s witnesses and making a closing speech to the jury. In his arguments he had made it clear that he believed one of the police officers had planted the weapon and raised issues over inconsistencies in the police evidence.
Why don’t all the haters of Cayman people leave?Go back to your country since it’s so superior to ours. I’m so sick of other nationalities coming here and running our country down. Why are you here?
With your kids, if it’s soooooo bad? Give me a break and shut up.
Thank you
Donkey law. Let’s give him an honorary doctorate in law and give m a job. He s obviously got what it takes to be a lawyer.
Do you want an idea to address the crime problem? Juries should be selected exclusively from residents NOT on the electoral roll.
In a small close community as this, jury should be in England following the case via Skype…
Just shows that experience counts. He’s probably been in more trials than the prosecutor..
cayman justice……zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
welcome to wonderland…..
Good for him. He worked the system and it worked for him. If you do not like it then change it.
The problem here is the mandatory ten year sentence. If the penalty was death, it would be inappropriate. If it were thirty days, it would be ineffective. I don’t like the idea of the government paying millions of dollars per year to take care of a bunch of criminals, so why not deport all the criminals. If they return execute them. Crime problem solved!
Most of the criminals are local, where are you deporting them to?
Where r u from? De expats seem never to get caught or prosecuted_!!!
Seriously? This is one of the craziest things I have read in a while. This guy has argued TWICE for himself and was acquitted? THEN he shouted “Yes Rastafari!” Were the jurors on their phone the entire time instead of listening to the judge?
Wonder why our young people are being murdered in gun violence? You chose the society you want to live in.
The police should be very ashaned to had arrested an 83 year old woman regardless the situation. Compensation should be administered to this family for negligence on the cops behalf. To the Governnent of the Caynan Islands, who should be held accountable for your unscroupolous actions, your.” Police raids” are totally out of control. Raiding peoples homes at various types of mornings is dispicable and ridiculous, needless to say it”s unwarranted and unprecedented. What i am really trying to say here…can it be done at a convienient time??? Now you mean to tell me, you all are going to “DTP” at. Someones home at such an inappropiate time of morning because you assumed they are a thief??? Hello???
Yeah, raiding completely innocent peoples homes who just happen to have a stolen pump action shotgun under their sofa. Outrageous. They should have rung first and politely asked if they could come around and check.
Do you know the 83 year old woman? She is one tough cookie! Always begging in Fosters and in George town. I gave her a drive home from Fosters one day with her groceries, by the time we had reached I had heard the speel, been asked for money, food and water (which I gave her) clothes and household goods. I felt sorry for her and went home and got together a bag of items for her to use and brought them back round.
Well, wasn’t I the fool! Seen her so many times since then at Fosters and Kirks and down in the town harassing tourists. She approached me again with the same story but didn’t recognize me, when I said remember me, I got such a cussin out from her I was shocked.
Whoever is judging this older lady wrongfully, please get your facts straight b4 publishing, she is a tough cookie yes, cause she is 83 yrs old, and don’t need a helper, she can stay at home and cook, wash, clean and is in SDA church every Saturday, and forget about the cursing, she doesn’t, not like you. She is a retired ex bus warden, collecting pension which can cover her monthly expenses and $200 tithes to her church every month. So check backon your cursing, begging grandma, cause you got the wrong one. Remember!!!.
A national treasure!
Um hello, u definitely have the wrong person…mad Alice maybe but not this tough cookie. This woman is too proud regardless of her current state to beg the likes of u…maybe u need to check ur own line of begging-83-year-olds cuz clearly u sound as a person who keeps clothes on hand to give the beggars that u encounter daily. And if you are seeing her begging on a daily this means that you are from West Bay and therefore should even be ashamed to display such comments on public media. Humble yourself when you help the poor for one day you might need the same help IF you reach 83 with that attitude and ignorance.
If you feel so bad for the people you pretend to help and talk about it afterwards, I think the poor people would be better off in the world from people such as you….!! Acting like you don’t have poor people in your family…you dig a hole for yourself somewhere….you and your used clothes!
You got the wrong women, this women was a hard working women in here working days. She is now unable, but I can put my last dollar on this “you never seen her at any time begging. Get your fact right
Uhh!,not that 83yrs old from west bay, not the defendants mother that you’re talking about, Einstein, you better get your info straight before you scandal that hardworking lady’s name. Maybe you just arrived here. Hope you got $, because if her children find out who you are, dog eat your supper and your grandmas. Apologize to them b4 they find out. And am sure they will.
Fool!fool!fool!!! Where are you livin! And of course you’re not a caymanian. What century you seen her begging?.
Do u even know who u r talking about? I think u got de wrong lady so happy to be here maybe get ur shit together OK?
Just a couple of things wrong with that reasoning:
– Being old doesn’t make you less guilty or less responsible before the law
– Police raids are always with a warrant, for which they need reasonable cause
– Pre-dawn police raids are the opposite of unprecedented. It’s when they ALWAYS happen.
– If you ‘raid’ at a convenient time for the alleged criminal, then any alleged weaponry they allegedly are holding would disappear before the conveniently-timed raid. The idea is to find what is being hidden by catching them unawares, not come round for coffee and a sandwich.
THANK YOU. Clearly others are not smart enough to know this on their own. @Anon at 3:43 am YOU!
You silly muppet!
Other people from West Bay have been found not guilty when the evidence against them was even more overwhelming.
police cant catch a cold and justice system just there to get paid. They are enhancing crime not stopping in plus all the money the people have to pay for them
Like you
Caymankind, basically a licence to own a loaded illegal firearm total joke
Well, the workings of the Jury system in a small town.
You have got to be kidding me. DNA on the ammunition!!! Inside the gun!!! You have to hope the crown appeal this, exactly why the jury system is unworkable. The judge clearly gave a warning.
I know, what was wrong with the jury!!!!!!!!! Obviously, they are not up-to-date with DNA testing!!
Let your people go
Great. Now anyone can have a gun in his house and get away with it. Or is it only Caymanian criminals?
only caymanian criminals. we are permitted 2 crimes per fiscal year.
Cayman jury justice triumphs again
Really…? Woudl be fascinating to read the transcript. Given the sumamry of the judges comments here it seems incredible that a Jury coudl acquit on the basis of him saying simply that he thought je was being framed unless he was also able to demonstrate that there was enough time and opportunity to do what the judge described. If he did no mroe then every other case briought is in deep do do. ‘ladies and gentelemen of the jury. nothing to do with me..must be the cops up to naughty stuff… I rest my case.. thank you.’
This mandatory 10 year minimum means that a jury will never convict unless the individual charged is arrested with the weapon in his possession.The fact that the weapon and ammunition had his DNA all over it and was found under the sofa on which he slept means nothing to a Caymanian jury. These cases need to be tried by a judge alone if the law is to be effective.
Complete joke, you deserve the gun crime ravaging this island.
This does not say much for the DPP and the Police. Wow!!!
It doesn’t say much for the jury.
How on earth is the fault of the police, the DPP or the judicial system? It doesn’t get any better than this in terms of evidence or an overwhelming case. Its the jury, pure and simple.