Two men were last night convicted of the premeditated murder of David Clarke, an attack described by prosecutors as a revenge killing.

It took the jury nearly eight hours of deliberation before they found Darrion Simons, 21, guilty of both the premeditated murder of Mr Clarke, and using a firearm to commit an indictable offence by a majority of 11 to one. The jury also found Jahkeo LeShore, 32, guilty of the same offences by a majority verdict of ten to two.

While the public gallery was warned to remain silent as the decisions were read, family members of the defendants were heard crying as the guilty verdicts were delivered. The defendants, however, remained silent as they were lead from the court in handcuffs.

Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons ordered both men remanded until next month, when they are expected to return to Supreme Court so a sentencing date can be set.

LeShore and Simons had both steadfastly denied taking part in the fatal shooting of Mr Clarke, who was gunned down near the junction of North Shore Road and Bandroom Lane on the evening of April 17, 2011.

Witnesses told the court that Mr Clarke was shot off his bike by two men, who pulled up along side him on a second motorcycle and opened fire. Mr Clarke was struck by two bullets, one which passed through his arm and a second which struck his head.

Prosecutor Susan Mulligan said the gunmen sped up Mission Lane to Crane Lane, where they abandoned the motorcycle used in the shooting.

She told the court that the defendants had both the opportunity and the motivation to kill Mr Clarke, saying the shooting was retaliation for the murder six weeks earlier of LeShore’s brother Jahmiko, who was also Simon’s friend.

Ms Mulligan also told the court that both defendants of the St Monica’s Road-based 42 gang and, while Mr Clarke was not gang affiliated, his brother D’Angelo Clarke had been linked to the rival Parkside gang.

The prosecutor said that while no eye witnesses were able to identify the gunmen, forensic evidence linked both defendants to the murder. She noted that LeShore’s DNA had been recovered on the motorcycle found on Crane Lane and Simons’ house keys were found by a wall a witness said she saw two men scale down on the night of the shooting.

And she cited electronic communications between the men and other alleged 42 gang members, including a BlackBerry message in which Ms Mulligan said LeShore wrote that the only thing that would make him feel better would be “killing one or two of them personally”.

Simons told the court he was at home when he heard the gunshots after being given a ride home by a man identified only as “Johnny”, and LeShore said he had ridden alone to his mother’s house in Devonshire before the shooting took place. The men denied being members of any gang and told the court they had no problem with Mr Clarke.

Regarding the forensic evidence, Simons said he had lost the keys found by police a week or two prior to the shooting, while defence lawyer Charles Richardson argued that the motorcycle found with LeShore’s DNA didn’t match the description of the one used in the shooting according to an eye witness.

And addressing the BlackBerry messages, he said that his client’s anger following the murder of his brother was understandable but did not mean he would seek vengeance.

Mr Richardson and fellow defence lawyer Larry Mussenden, representing Simons, called for the jury to find their clients not guilty, dismissing the Crown’s case as weak and unreliable.