Gun suspect defends himself at trial

(CNS): Mark Llewellyn was in court Monday facing trial for the possession of a handgun and ammunition, which were found under a stove draw in his kitchen during a police raid on his apartment in North Side in June 2015. Appearing in the dock without an attorney, Llewellyn denied that the gun had anything to do with him and said that he had moved into the apartment just a few days before police executed a search warrant there.

But later tests revealed that Llewelyn’s DNA was on the weapon, which was inside a Ziploc bag when found by police.

Llewellyn (37) was already in custody when the search warrant was executed at his new apartment and police said it was his landlady who gave them access to his apartment based on the warrant.

As Llewelyn directly cross-examined the police officers who found the gun and later interviewed him, the court heard that no one other than the police officer and his colleague was in the kitchen when the gun was found, that the search warrant was not properly signed, and the custody records failed to show when Llewellyn was interviewed.

The defendant suggested that this was because police were trying to cover up mistakes around the handling of the case and claimed he was never arrested before the officers tried to interview him. When they did, he told them that he knew nothing about a gun and then made no comment answers.

Llewellyn was released and he was not charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm until August 2015, around two months later, after his DNA was found on the .38 handgun. He was at that time picked up by police in George Town and remanded in custody.

The case, which is being heard by a jury, continues.