Two cousins have been jailed for perjury after they were convicted of trying to get a key witness in a shooting trial to give false evidence.

Devon Hewey was sentenced to six years, while Dujon Reid-Anderson was given a three-year prison term at Supreme Court yesterday for “corrupting and intimidating” Levon Thomas, who was targeted in a 2012 shooting.

Hewey, who is serving a life sentence for the 2011 murder of footballer Randy Robinson, was found guilty of offering Mr Thomas $3,5000 to give false testimony, fabricating evidence and perjury after trial.

Reid-Anderson, 29, was convicted of sending threatening voice messages to Mr Thomas, offering to provide him with money or protection if he lied under oath and perjury.

The duo approached Mr Thomas between July and September 2014 after Hewey and a second man were charged with attempted murder in connection with the 2012 shooting that took place outside Shine’s Nightclub in Hamilton.

They persuaded him to lie under oath during the trial and say that he knew Hewey and that Hewey was not the person he saw shoot at him from a bike.

However, Mr Thomas later admitted to police that he had given false evidence about knowing Hewey because he feared for his safety after being threatened.

Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons described Mr Thomas as “vulnerable” and suggested he might have been “singled out”.

Addressing Reid-Anderson, Judge Simmons said: “You knew him as a friend and could influence him. You did it to help your cousin and to defeat the indictment for attempted murder.”

Judge Simmons told the pair the offences “struck at the foundation of the criminal justice system”.

“There is a high need for deterrence in a case like this and I hope that we never see the likes of these type of offences again,” the judge added.

“I hope people think twice before even considering dealing with a person who is a witness in the case.”

Hewey’s lawyer, Kamal Worrell, had initially been charged alongside the two men with conspiring to defeat justice, fabricating evidence and perjury.

However, the case against Mr Worrell, who “unequivocally” denied all charges from the start, was withdrawn by Judge Simmons just after the end of the prosecution case and the judge instructed the jury to find Mr Worrell not guilty of all charges against him.

During yesterday’s sentencing hearing, Reid-Anderson told the court it was never his intention to break the law and he was remorseful for his decisions and actions.

“This incident has taught me a very important life lesson,” he said. “I have learnt that my downfall is I have a big heart and I look to help people.”

He maintained he wanted to be a strong role model for his son.

Hewey, who is in the process of appealing his conviction for the Randy Robinson murder, told the court he had nothing to do with the 2012 shooting.

“Put yourself in my shoes, I was found guilty of a murder that had nothing to do with me and I come to find myself in a the same situation knowing I have had nothing to do with this case,” he said. “That is why I reached out, I did not know I was breaking the law.”

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