The Police have revealed new information about the murder of Shaundae Jones on the eve of the fifth anniversary of his death, in the hope of finally cracking the case.

Mr. Jones, 20, was shot in a car pulling away from the Club Malabar nightspot in Dockyard around 3 a.m on April 27 2003. The murderer jumped on the back of a motorcycle ridden by an accomplice, and was last seen fleeing out of the main gates of Dockyard.

Despite the fact that no-one has been brought to justice, Detective Chief Inspector Antoine Daniels of the serious crime unit had words of hope for Shaundae's grieving mother, Marsha, telling this newspaper: "We're going all out to resolve it, so she can be reassured that her son is not forgotten by the Police either.

"Right now, I can say we have some really positive leads in the Shaundae Jones murder. Some time soon we hope to have some positive news for the Bermuda public - people before the courts."

According to him the murder, like others including the shooting of teenager Jason Lightbourne in 2006, may have been sparked by something relatively trivial that kicked off an "east vs west" reprisal.

"It's kind of a revenge type thing. In Bermuda today there are a lot of silly little incidents. People are retaliating to something previously, a minor confrontation between two of them. One takes it further by brandishing a firearm and using it," he said.

A man fled Bermuda after the shooting, sparking a 22-month manhunt. He was eventually extradited from Jamaica in connection with the killing but firearms charges against him were dropped in 2005 after a magistrate ruled there was no case to answer.

Mr. Jones was killed three months after giving evidence relating to the stabbing death of Tekle Mallory at Paget Ice Queen in 2001. No one has been convicted of either murder.

His mother, Marsha Jones, believes her son's testimony may be linked to his death. However, DCI Daniels poured cold water on this idea, saying: "We don't believe that was the catalyst in that case".

Detective Inspector Jerome (Jerry) Laws is leading the investigation, and is in frequent contact with Ms Jones. He hopes her appeal today for help to solve the case will resonate with witnesses previously reluctant to come forward.

"We would also like to appeal to the public. We believe that the suspect and an accomplice were in the area of Club Malabar where they prepared themselves for such a violent crime," he said.

"We ask for witnesses to come forward if they saw anything in the vicinity of the club any time between 2.30 a.m on April 27 2003 and minutes before 3 a.m. From the evidence thus far, the suspect ran and jumped on a motorcycle being ridden by another person."

Witnesses have described the shooter as 6 feet to 6 feet 4 inches tall, slim to medium build, wearing a bright red top and a black crash helmet with a visor. His accomplice is described as 6 feet tall wearing dark clothing, of medium size build.

DI Laws also revealed that the murder weapon has never been recovered - although he declined to say what type of gun was used.

l Anyone who can help with information should call the serious crime unit on 299-4315 or the CrimeStoppers hotline on 1-800-623-8477.