Two men deny possessing guns for second time

(CNS): Keith Rohan Montaque and Walter Jordan McLaughlin both denied possessing a 9mm pistol and a. 38 revolver and ammunition when they appeared in Grand Court Tuesday. They will now go to trial for the second time in August next year on those charges after the Court of Appeal ordered a new trial this summer following a successful appeal by the crown that the case should not have been thrown out during the first trial. The two men have, however, consistently denied knowing anything about the guns, which were found at McLaughlin’s father’s home in North Side in February last year.

Both men, who were remanded in custody, were staying at the house at the time and the weapons were found under a bed where they slept.

During the original trial the defence argued that there was no evidence that the men had been in possession of the guns because although traces of DNA were found on the weapons, they were hidden under a bed where the men were sleeping. Lawyers argued that the DNA could have got on the weapons as a result of innocent transfer. The Court of Appeal found that this was an issue that the jury, not the judge, should have decided.