Finger prints found on a tin can are the only evidence to link a defendant to a breaking and entering charge, a Supreme Court jury heard yesterday.

The can on the floor of Leon Simmons? house had two of Toriano Elmario Dunkley?s finger prints on it, said Crown counsel Anthony Blackman.

Dunkley, 33, of Pembroke, denies breaking and entering into Mr. Simmons home on October 10, 2002.

In his opening statements, Mr. Blackman told the jury that the Crown is relying strongly on the finger print evidence.

The first witness, Mr. Simmons, told the court that he left his home around 9.15 a.m. to go to work and returned around 1.30 p.m. to find a black motorcycle in his yard.

Mr. Simmons told the jury he was expecting a plumber and walked around the house in search of him. As Mr. Simmons walked towards the front of his house he heard the motor of the cycle running.

He said he caught a glimpse of the black cycle with yellow and green strips leaving his yard but he failed to see the person driving it.

Mr. Simmons found that his French doors had been prised open and the trash bag outside was missing. While searching his house he noticed that thousands of dollars worth of goods including, jewellery, CDs, and coins, had been stolen.

Mr. Simmons, who said he did not know the defendant, told the court that a Police officer evaluated a small tin can found on the floor in his son?s bedroom. The can, he said, was on a shelf before the break-in.

On cross examination from defence lawyer, Mark Pettingill, Mr. Simmons said that the tin can was pointed out to him by a Police officer, who then dusted it for prints. Mr. Simmons said the officer also dusted the French doors for prints but he did not see him dust the master bedroom.

Det. Con. Steven Palmer told the jury that he established that the apparent point of entry was the French doors. He said that he dusted for prints on the French doors and in the master bedroom but did not find any. However, he did find prints on the tin can.

Det. Sgt. Peter Thompson told the court that he took Dunkley?s prints at the Hamilton Police Station on April 11, 2003 and compared them with the lifts of the prints found at the crime scene.

He said: ?There is no doubt in my mind that those marks on the can are indeed made by Dunkley.?

Mr. Simmons son, Anwar Kai Simmons took the stand and said that it was unusual that the tin can was on the floor because it was normally on a shelf.

Det. Con. Jason Smith, who was assigned to the case, told the court that Dunkley was charged with the offence on March 31, 2003.

The trial will continue today in front of Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons.