The alleged gang associations of shooting victim Raymond "Yankee" Rawlins and the man accused of firing at him were detailed by an expert in Supreme Court yesterday.

Anthony Swan is on trial accused of shooting at Mr. Rawlins outside his family store in Court Street on December 16, 2009.

The 47-year-old was not injured at that time, but died in a separate incident a month ago.

Swan denies a string of charges including shooting at Mr. Rawlins with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

Yesterday, prosecutor Auralee Cassidy read to the jury a statement from Sergeant Alexander Rollin, supervisor of the gang-targeting unit at Bermuda Police Service.

Sgt. Rollin said he's known of Mr. Rawlins for the past nine years from his patrols, and he lived on Court Street. He'd spoken to him on an almost daily basis while patrolling that area.

"I know that Rawlins used to have associations with a group known as the Frontline gang. This gang was considered as one of the first crews involved in drug sales and acts of violence in Bermuda," he reported.

"I had a good rapport with Rawlins and still continue this with his family. From my patrols I could see that it was quite evident that Rawlins was known by the street name Yankee or Yankee Boy and had a good deal of respect on the street in gang circles.

"Yankee was often referred to as O.G. This stands for Original Gangster. This is a person who has street life experience and seems to have made a name for themselves."

Sgt Rollin reported that he'd often seen Mr. Rawlins in the company of members of both the Parkside and Middletown gangs. He also noted that Mr. Rawlins has given evidence in Supreme Court that he used to be involved in the sale of controlled drugs.

He went on to state that he is not personally familiar with the defendant in the current case, 22-year-old Anthony Swan. However, he submitted to the jury two photographs in which he alleged that Swan is pictured in the company of known 42 gang members.

Sgt. Rollin said the alleged gang members are making the numbers four and two with their fingers, which is known as "throwing up signs".

This, he said, is a method in which members identify themselves.

Sgt. Rollin also described another man, Alvone Maybury. Maybury, 24, of Pembroke, is alleged by prosecutors to have made a cellphone video of himself and Swan four days before the shooting.

The jury watched the video on Monday, where the pair made apparent threats towards Parkside.

Sgt. Rollin said: "To pinpoint Maybury to a single gang is difficult."

He explained that he had seen him in the Middletown area, which encompasses the Middletown Lane, Rambling Lane and King Street areas of Pembroke. He'd also seen him in Court Street, which is considered to be the heartland of the Parkside gang, and St. Monica's Road, which is the base for the 42 gang.

"I've always viewed him as a person that associates with the Parkside gang members and the 42 gang members. I would not consider Maybury to be a fully-fledged gang member but he's given 'wannabe' status. This is a level where he has not reached full involvement but may view gang life as exciting and may look up to active gang members," explained the officer.

He said all the gangs mentioned in his statement are known to be involved in acts of violence, robberies, firearms use and drug dealing. He added that in the last three years he has seen an ongoing feud between Parkside and 42 "escalate to new heights".

This has led to a series of retaliatory attacks, according to him.

Chief Justice Richard Ground told the jury that Sgt. Rollin was not present in court as he is overseas, and the jury must bear in mind that defence lawyer Marc Daniels objects to his statement and has not had chance to cross-examine him on it.

However, Mr. Daniels did get the opportunity yesterday to cross-examine another Police officer familiar with Bermuda's gangs, Detective Constable Cheryl Beech.

She agreed Swan is not making any gang gestures with his hands in the pictures submitted to the court by Sgt. Rollin, which come from the social networking website Bermynet.

She said she did not know of Swan prior to December 17 last year, when he did a Police interview and maintained his constitutional right to silence. She also agreed with the defence lawyer that she does not know the relationship between Swan and the other people in the photographs.

Swan denies all the charges he faces, and the case continues.