Legal Implications of Joint Enterprise in Murder Trial: Understanding Shared Criminal Liability

If two or more people set out to commit a crime, the law says both are guilty.

Principal State Counsel Neville Watson sought to make this legal point clear on Monday as witnesses began to give evidence before a 12-member jury in a murder trial of Trasuon Alleyne and Shawne Dawson in the No. 3 Supreme Court.

Alleyne of Morris Gap, Westbury and Dawson of 5th Avenue Peterkin, Bank Hall have denied killing Rondell Alexander on December 13, 2019.

Noting that the State’s case would be built on the premise of joint enterprise, Watson told the jurors that “the watchman is as good as the thief”.

“So if one has the gun and one has the intention to shoot at the persons on the block either to kill somebody or cause someone serious bodily harm and the other one goes along to watch the road to see if the police or anyone is coming, to encourage the person to do the shooting or to give assistance, then that person shoots and kills, this person who went along to encourage, assist or watch, is equally guilty,” the prosecutor said.

He urged jurors to assess only the evidence presented in court with “no bias and no embellishment”.

“You must call it as it is,” he advised.

The men were liming at Twerks Bar in Eagle Hall when shots suddenly rang out. After the smoke cleared, Alexander lay mortally injured. When an examination of his body was conducted, he was found to have suffered a gunshot wound to the head.

Police photographers Roger Barrow and Mervin Grace presented 35 photographs of the scene to the jury.

A further 20 witnesses are slated to give evidence in the case.

Senior Counsel Michael Lashley is Alleyne’s attorney while Senior Counsel Angella Mitchell-Gittens represents Dawson before Justice Carlisle Greaves.