A man who admitted shooting a teenager in the back is facing a ten-year sentence after a jury convicted him of wounding and gun possession.

However Dwayne Signor, 29, was cleared of the more serious charges of attempting to murder 18-year-old Shawn Williams and shooting him with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

Meanwhile his co-accused, 19-year-old Khyri Smith-Williams, was acquitted of bringing the gun to the party at the Royal Artillery Association club in St. George's where the shooting occurred.

Signor, from St. George's, admitted grabbing the firearm during a bar brawl and pulling the trigger on Mr. Williams early on Easter Sunday, causing serious injuries.

However, he told the jury during his nine-day Supreme Court trial that it was an accident, while acting in a panic.

His lawyer, Marc Daniels, said after yesterday's verdicts: "Mr. Signor is very pleased that the jury did not find him guilty of attempted murder or wounding with intent.

That sends a clear sign they never believed he was a murderer or a person with the predisposition to kill or seriously injure."

He said his client was "a bit disappointed" to be convicted of the rest of the charges, but "all things considered, he's pleased with the result".

Mr. Daniels noted Parliament has set a mandatory ten-year minimum sentence for gun possession.

However, he revealed he will ask Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons to waive the rule due to the unusual circumstances of the case. The maximum for wounding is seven years and Signor will be sentenced at a later date.

The key prosecution witness during the trial was Ronnie Furbert, 19, from St. George's a friend of Signor and Mr. Smith-Williams until the incident.

Mr. Furbert told the jury Mr. Smith-Williams, from Sandys, brought the gun to the club citing fears that the Parkside Crew gang from town may be present.

He then described him acting aggressively and getting into a fight with some St. George's men after flashing the weapon at them.

That allegation was refuted by Mr. Smith-Williams during the trial.

He told the jury he had no beef with Parkside and never had such a discussion with Mr. Furbert.

Speaking after he was cleared of carrying a prohibited weapon, his lawyer, Jerome Lynch QC, said Mr. Smith-Williams received threats in prison from Parkside members over that allegation and his family has been threatened too.

"There is no animosity at all between this defendant and Parkside. Never has been, and there should not be in future," he stressed, in comments directed to the media.

Mrs. Justice Simmons replied that was "clear on the evidence given in this court".

Signor told the jury he grabbed the gun because it was being pointed at his knees during the fight and pulled the trigger in a panic after four shadowy figures pursued him into a darkened room at the club.

He ran off after the shooting and jumped in the sea. He denied this was to wash off gunshot residue. He also told the court he handed the weapon over to Mr. Furbert and does not know where it is now.

The outcome of the case means it remains unclear who brought the gun to the club, and how they got it past security checks.

The verdicts in the case were all unanimous, and came after the four-man eight-woman jury had been deliberating for just over four-and-a-half hours yesterday afternoon.

Mrs. Justice Simmons directed them to return further verdicts of not guilty over Signor possessing a bullet and Mr. Smith-Williams going armed in public, with the agreement of all the lawyers involved.

She remanded Signor into custody. Meanwhile, she told Mr. Smith-Williams who had been in custody since being arrested four days after the incident that he was a free man.

His lawyer Mr. Lynch — a British Queen's Counsel will return to court on Friday morning to ask the Crown to foot his "substantial" bill.

Mr. Lynch told The Royal Gazette Mr. Smith-Williams was denied legal aid to hire a Queen's Counsel, so his family face paying themselves unless the application is successful.

He said the verdicts came as a "massive relief" for Mr. Smith-Williams.

The victim in the case, Shawn Williams, will face contempt of court proceedings during another hearing on Friday morning after speaking to one of the jurors outside court during the case. He was arrested on the charge on Friday and bailed until that hearing.

Mr. Williams told the jury during evidence that he could not identify his assailants that night.

Mrs. Justice Simmons told him to stay away from court after speaking to the juror, so he was not present for the verdicts.