Two murder trials ended in acquittals yesterday.

In the first case, jurors believed that Charles Hanna used justifiable force when he fatally shot a 17-year-old vigilante.

According to the evidence, the deceased, Jarvell Gardiner, 17, was among three people who were attacking Hanna’s neighbor Kimble McPhee on November 22, 2012.

McPhee was with a man who had robbed Gardiner’s nephew of a pair of Oakley sunglasses earlier that morning, the court heard.

According to McPhee, he was with a person identified only as Jason, who robbed a student of T.A. Thompson Junior High School of a pair of Oakley sunglasses. McPhee said three men, one armed with a pipe and the others wielding bottles came to his home at Hawthorne Road a short time later and demanded the stolen sunglasses, which he handed over. McPhee said he tried to inch away to avoid a beating, but he was struck across the back with the pipe. He said the other men threw their bottles but missed.

At this point, McPhee said Hanna, his neighbor, came with his shotgun. McPhee said he heard the gun fire as he ran through a short cut to escape the men. Ramona Farquharson represented Hanna at his trial before Justice Vera Watkins. Raquel Whymms prosecuted.

In the second case, attorney Murrio Ducille convinced a jury that Richardo Brown was not responsible for the murder of Timothy Rolle before Acting Justice Cheryl Grant-Bethell. Rolle, who was also known as “Tim Rat”, was sitting with friends on a porch on Myrton Avenue in Chippingham when a gunman dressed in all black approached and fatally shot him in November 2013. Some witnesses said it was too dark to identify the gunman. However, two brothers who are now dead gave witness statements purporting to identify Rolle as the shooter. Their witness statements were read into evidence.

The jury did not accept the evidence and acquitted Brown.

Gordon Soles prosecuted.