Cops freed of 2013 Lilliput murder charge

Two policemen who were charged with murder in relation to the 2013 shooting death of Barrington McAnuff in Lilliput, St James, have been acquitted following their appearance in the St James Circuit Court last Wednesday.

Constables Victor Mitchell and Andrew Hudson were freed of the charges by Justice Martin Gayle, after the cops' attorneys made a no-case submissions on their behalf.

Mitchell and Hudson were arrested and charged by the Independent Commission of Investigations following the shooting death of McAnuff, who was killed on April 13, 2013 during an alleged shoot-out with the police at a restaurant in Lilliput.

But during the cops' most recent court appearance, defence attorneys Martyn Thomas and Morrel Beckford made submissions arguing that the prosecution had failed to conclusively establish a case against their clients.

According to the attorneys' applications, the prosecution's witnesses, during the case's preliminary examination, had not seen the deceased at the time of the shooting and could not say whether he pointed a revolver, which was reportedly recovered from him, at the police.

The lawyers further argued that the prosecution could not prove that Mitchell and Hudson had not acted in self-defence during the incident.

Following the submissions, Gayle ruled that Mitchell and Hudson should be freed of the charges.