The Court of Appeal on Friday reserved its decision in connection with the murder convictions of cop killers Stephen “Die” Stubbs, Andrew “Yogi” Davis, and Clinton “Russ’ Evans.

At their third trial in 2013, Stubbs, Davis and Evans were sentenced to life imprisonment for the 1999 murder of DC Jimmy Ambrose and 10 years for the attempted murder of Constable Marcian Scott in the shooting at the now­-closed Club Rock Disco.

Acting Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Garvin Gaskin defended the convictions of the men, saying the admission of the depositions of Scott, who was murdered before the trial, was not in violation of the convicts’ constitutional rights.

Section 66 of the Evidence Act gives a judge the discretion to allow the statement of a witness who is dead or cannot be found into evidence. Gaskin also argued that the trial judge was right to allow the identification evidence. Evans was sentenced to three years for pointing a firearm at two officers who pursued him following the shooting.

At the time of their first conviction, the men received the mandatory death sentence. The appellate court quashed the conviction and sentence and made an order for retrial in 2004. Due to developments in the law, the death penalty has been discretionary since 2006. They were sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder.

Constables Jimmy Ambrose and Scott, who were both attached to the Central Detective Unit, were reportedly at the club to conduct “spot checks” and to meet with an informant. While there, a fight broke out between two groups of men. After the fight, the convicts allegedly emerged from the club as Ambrose and Scott spoke to two of the men involved in the initial fight.

The convicts, on the evidence, opened fire on the men. Davis caught Ambrose, threw him to the ground, kicked him repeatedly and shot at him. Evans and Stubbs joined into the fray, kicking and shooting Ambrose, according to the evidence.

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