A man jailed for handling a firearm found outside a Devonshire nightclub has lost an appeal against his conviction.

Dameko Dublin, 21, was found guilty last March of handling a firearm and subsequently sentenced to 12 years behind bars, with the trial judge ordering that he serve at least half that term before becoming eligible for parole.

During his trial, the court heard that Dublin and others attended the Gravity Night Club, on North Shore Road, Devonshire, in the early hours of November 5, 2011. At around 2.15am, officers on duty in the area noticed a man dressed in all black on a motorcycle near the old Clay House Inn, between the building and a car parked nearby.

The officers turned on the police car’s roof lights, at which point they saw a second man emerge from behind the car, placing an object beneath the left rear fender on top of the wheel. The two men — identified as Darrion Simons and Kaya Dill — attempted to ride away but were stopped.

Officer later retrieved the item left on the car’s wheel, which was found to be a loaded firearm wrapped in a sock.

Subsequent tests revealed Dublin’s DNA on the sock, the firearm and the ammunition inside the weapon. Dublin admitted that the sock was his, but said he had never handled any firearm.

During an appeal hearing earlier this month, defence lawyer Larry Mussenden argued that the trial judge had failed to say in his response to a jury question that in order to be convicted, Dublin must have knowingly handled the firearm.

However, the Court of Appeal, in its written judgement, noted that it was accepted that the judge had earlier accurately described the charge in his directions to the jury.

“The jury in their question was concerned with the meaning of ‘handled’ and not as to whether the firearm was ‘knowingly’ handled,” the decision stated.

“The trial judge cannot be faulted from omitting to deal with ‘knowingly’ in answer to the jury’s question. There is no merit in this submission.”

Mr Mussenden also argued that the judge had erred by allowing gang evidence, specifically certain photographs, to be put before the jury and that the DNA evidence was “evidence of contamination.”

The Court of Appeal ruled that “there was no evidence led before the jury as to gangs”, and there was no evidence of contamination linked to the DNA discovered on the ammunition inside the firearm.

“We are satisfied that the evidence, including DNA, was sufficient to leave the case for the jury’s consideration,” the judgment said. “The jury must have rejected the appellant’s explanation as to the DNA evidence at his defence that he had never handled this or any firearm.

“The prosecution’s case was advanced on the basis that the firearm was handled at some time in the course of the events on November 4 and 5, 2011. Had the appellant contended he might have handled the gun on some occasion prior to November 4, which he did not, this would have led to an immediate request to amend the indictment which would have inevitably succeeded.”

The Justices ruled that there was sufficient evidence for the jury to have convicted Dublin, and as a result they affirmed the conviction.