A gang expert told the Supreme Court that Devon Hewey, the accused in a murder trial, was a gang member in 2011 during a fatal feud between two rival groups.

Mr Hewey has denied charges of both premeditated murder and using a firearm to commit an indictable act in connection with the March 31, 2011 fatal shooting of Randy Robinson.

Acting Superintendent Alexander Rollin, who was accepted by the court as an expert on gangs, said that while there had once been a “friendly” rivalry between gangs based in the West End and in Hamilton, there was an escalation in the 2000s with groups becoming increasingly violent.

He said that in the late 2000s a feud developed between two central groups with Parkside, based in North Hamilton, and the 42 gang based in the St Monica’s Road area — known as 42nd Street — committing a series of “tit-for-tat” reprisal attacks.

He said: “If I shoot your gang or I disrespect your gang, your gang is going to come right back and do something to my gang, or someone associated with my gang.”

Mr Rollin added that those targeted in the “revenge” attacks were not necessarily those that had disrespected the gang.

He said: “It doesn’t have to be on the person that carried out the assault or the disrespect, but another member of the gang or some one in their wider circle.

“It could be a friend, it could be a boyfriend, it could be a girlfriend, it could be a child.”

Mr Rollin said he was of the opinion that Mr Hewey was a member of the 42 gang at least between 2010 and 2013, stating that the defendant was seen with other gang members in areas associated with the group.

He also noted a series of photographs with Mr Hewey among others that he said were 42 members, including Jay Dill.

In several, Mr Hewey or others were seen to hold up four fingers with one hand and two with the other, which Mr Rollin said was a sign associated with the 42 gang.

Mr Rollin also noticed a “rest in peace” image found on Mr Hewey’s phone with the names and faces of four people who had been fatally shot between 2009 and 2011.

He said that the most recent victim of the four was Jahmiko LeShore, who was killed on March 1, 2011.

Mr Rollin said that three of those pictured in the image were members of the 42 gang and that he believed all of the shootings were linked to the gang’s rivalry with Parkside.

The court previously heard that Mr Robinson, a 22-year-old father, was shot while walking along Border Lane North on the evening of March 31, 2011.

A witness described seeing two people drive up on a black Honda Scoopy with the pillion passenger shooting at the victim with a gun held in his left hand.

Dill was previously convicted of the killing, with prosecutors stating that he was the gunman while Hewey drove the motorcycle.

Prosecutors described the fatal shooting as a “gang hit”, stating that while Mr Robinson was not involved in gang activity, two of his cousins were.

Both Mr Hewey and Dill were arrested at Mr Hewey’s home in the early hours of April 1, 2011 after police executed a search warrant at the property.

Items seized during the search, which police said included Mr Hewey’s bedroom, included a bulletproof vest, jewellery, mobile phones and a motorcycle key.

Ariel Anternette Cole, Mr Hewey’s mother, said that on the day of the shooting she received a call from her son who asked her to let the dog out because “it was getting dark”.

She said the defendant returned home with Dill, at about 9pm, with black helmets in their hands. Police arrived to carry out a search later that night.

Jurors heard earlier about activities involving phone connections between devices attributed to Mr Hewey, Dill and another man, Christopher Parris, between March 31 and April 1, 2011.

The court also heard that CCTV footage was seized from the Mid Atlantic Boat Club, Devonshire, from the night of the shooting, but police witnesses said the footage was of too poor quality to identify anyone.

One officer said she was told by a staff member at the club that Dill and Mr Hewey did have a single drink at the bar that night, but the person was not willing to provide a statement.

The trial before Puisne Judge Alan Richards continues.

• It is The Royal Gazette’s policy not to allow comments on stories regarding criminal court cases. This is to prevent any statements being published that may jeopardise the outcome of that case