Murder-accused Darrion Simons took the stand yesterday, telling the Supreme Court that he was at home in bed when David Clarke was gunned down.

But while he said a friend of his godfather had given him a ride home that evening, he told the court he has not attempted to track down the man, whom he identified as “Johnny”.

Mr Simons, 21, has been charged alongside 32-year-old Jahkeo LeShore with the premeditated murder of Mr Clarke, 26, who was fatally shot while riding his motorcycle near the entrance to Bandroom Lane on April 17, 2011. Both defendants have maintained their innocence.

A friend of Mr Clarke told the court that she had been driving behind him on the evening of the shooting when two men on a motorcycle overtook her, pulled up alongside the victim and opened fire. Mr Clarke suffered two gunshot wounds, with one bullet passing through his arm and a second entering his head.

Prosecutors have suggested the killing was one in a series of tit-for-tat shootings between two rival gangs — the North Hamilton-based Parkside and the 42 gang, based in the St Monica’s Road area.

The court heard Mr LeShore’s brother, Jahmiko, was fatally shot six weeks before Mr Clarke’s murder, and the firearm used to kill Mr Clarke had been used less than three weeks earlier in the murder of Randy Robinson.

Taking the stand yesterday in his own defence, Mr Simons told the court he has never fired a firearm in Bermuda, had nothing to do with the murder of Mr Clarke, and was not involved with any gang.

“Me personally, I don’t even believe in gangs,” he added. “Not in Bermuda.”

He told the court that on the evening of the shooting, his co-defendant had visited him at his home, saying that Mr LeShore wanted him to put movies and music on a USB drive for him.

He could not recall if Mr LeShore had invited him to the Mid Atlantic Boat Club or if he had asked his co-defendant to drop him off there, but agreed that Mr LeShore had driven him to the club.

However, he denied the prosecution’s suggestion that the pair had left the club together later in the evening.

Mr Simons told the court that his godfather had been performing at the club on the night of the shooting and a “friend or cousin” of his godfather, who he called Johnny, had given him a ride home.

When he got home, he said he went straight to his bedroom without seeing anyone else. While lying on his bed, he heard the sound of gunshots, and a few minutes later his mother came downstairs and spoke with him.

Asked about the keys found in a yard near the shooting, he confirmed the keys were his and that he had lost them a week or two before the shooting. He explained that he frequently lost that pair of keys, and as a result had a second pair which he attached to his pants via a curly cable.

Under cross examination by prosecutor Susan Mulligan, Mr Simons said he did not know Johnny’s last name, or even that Johnny was his real name. While he was able to give a description of Johnny, he said he had not made any effort to identify him on the CCTV footage from the club.

And he said he had not attempted to track down Johnny, saying: “I never thought about him. I never thought it would make it this far.”

He said he was “surprised, shocked and baffled” to be charged with the murder, saying he didn’t think the police truly believed he was responsible for the shooting.

Ms Mulligan asked him if at any point after being charged with premeditated murder he thought about contacting his godfather about Johnny, but he said he hadn’t.

“I didn’t take it that seriously,” he replied. “My word’s good enough. I can speak for myself.”

He denied the suggestion that he had dropped the set of keys on the night of the shooting while trying to scale down a wall, reiterating that he had lost that set of keys and was using his second set.

And questioned about photographs recovered from his phone showing around $30,000 in Bermudian cash, Mr Simons said that the majority of the money had come as a result of his success in track and field, explaining that family members would give him money when he did well.

The trial will continue on Monday.