The trial of two men accused of the Christmas night murder of Malcolm Augustus began yesterday in the Supreme Court.

Wolda Gardner, 35, and Patrick Stamp, 30, both deny charges of premeditated murder in connection to the 2012 killing, along with charges of using a firearm to commit an indictable act.

Shortly after the trial began yesterday, Police Constable Anthony Thurab took the stand, telling the jury that he was on duty at Southside Police Station on the night of the shooting.

He told the court that he reported for duty at about 11.45pm on Christmas Eve.

Minutes later, at about 11.55pm, he said he was dispatched to a report of screaming in the Anchorage Lane area of St George’s.

Pc Thurab said he and another uniformed officer responded to the call, but mistakenly drove to Anchorage Road.

“It was a mistake on my part,” Pc Thurab said. “On reaching Anchorage Road we stopped the vehicle, turned off the engine and got out of the vehicle. I stood there for at least a minute and a half and listened, as it was very quiet.

“About 20 seconds in I heard a loud scream. At that point, I realised it was coming from Anchorage Lane.”

He said he and the other officer got back into the car and began to drive towards Anchorage Lane. As they were entering Park Road, they noticed another vehicle travelling in the opposite direction.

Pc Thurab recognised the vehicle as belonging to someone who lived a short distance away, and took note of the licence plate number.

As the vehicles passed each other, he said he leaned his head out of the window and shouted at the other driver, asking if they had heard anyone screaming, but said he received no response and the vehicle kept moving.

While he could not say who was driving the vehicle, he said it appeared that there were three people inside. “As the vehicle passed, I looked back to make sure what the licence of the vehicle was because I thought it was suspicious that the vehicle did not stop,” he said. “I quickly dismissed as I knew the vehicle and the usual driver lived approximately 100 metres away on Naval Tank Road.”

When the officers reached Anchorage Lane, he said he parked on the golf course and they began listening for screaming. At this point, he noticed a man in dark clothing.

“He pointed to an overgrown area of bushes and said the screaming was coming from over there,” Pc Thurab said.

He and the other officer began to walk into the bushes and heard a loud groan, “similar to the sound you would hear from a wounded animal”.

“We followed the groaning using our flashlights and approximately ten feet into the bushes we observed a black male laying face down between the overgrowth,” Pc Thurab said. “He was foaming at the mouth and he continued groaning. I asked him his name at least three times but he did not reply.”

Pc Thurab noticed what appeared to be a small wound on the man’s back and blood coming from underneath his jacket.

“I realised he had been shot,” he told the court. “I got on the police radio to report my findings. I was asked if there were any vehicles seen in the area and I gave them the licence plate number.”

He remained in the area until other officers and members of Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service arrived on the scene about 15 minutes later, when he helped to move the wounded man out of the bushes.

“At that point the male had stopped groaning and was breathing heavily,” he said.

The jury was shown pictures of the area, with a body identified as Mr Augustus lying in a grassy area near the golf course, and pictures of two wounds on Mr Augustus’s body — one in his abdomen and a second just above his buttocks.

The trial continues.