A DJ was yesterday cleared of possessing a loaded semi-automatic firearm at a nightclub.

A jury found Gregory (Sheep) Outerbridge not guilty of possession of a prohibited weapon, six rounds of ammunition and of carrying a firearm in a public place. Mr. Outerbridge, AKA DJ Sheep, was found with a Ruger P90 semi-automatic pistol loaded with six bullets after Police received a tip-off he was carrying a firearm.

However he claimed it was planted in his bag while it was left unattended at the nightclub.

The 28-year-old was arrested after leaving Club Ovation in St. George's in the early hours of September 12.

During the trial the court heard he DJ'ed at the club every fortnight but had organised his own party on September 11.

When he left the venue at 3.30 a.m. that night he got on the back of a motorbike driven by Tarik White. Police, including officers from the Armed Response Unit, then stopped the pair in York Street. The court heard that Mr. Outerbridge had a laptop bag strapped to his shoulder, and was asked what he was carrying.

"Just a sampler," he replied.

When officers searched the bag however, they found the gun and rounds of ammunition.

Mr. Outerbridge, of St. David's, told Police: "I don't know nothing about a firearm."

He told Supreme Court earlier this week he thought he was being "set up" by someone trying to frame him. "I thought I was in the middle of a plot to set me up at that point," he told the jury.

He said he had carried his sampler to the club in the laptop bag but left it unattended while he set up and DJ'ed. Defence lawyer Charles Richardson suggested that the Police presence outside the club although a regular occurrence may have prompted the owner of the gun to dump it in Mr. Outerbridge's bag.

Summing up yesterday, Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves said it could be argued the gun was being used for "safety", for protection, as Mr. Outerbridge collected his takings at the end of the night.

However, there was no DNA evidence of him ever having handled the gun. "No DNA was found on the weapon from anyone at all, not the defendant, neither any planter," said the judge.

Mr. Justice Greaves said there were around 30 people at the club, but when Police entered to do a liquor licence check, there was no sign of any "scrambling or ditching [of any weapons] by any of the patrons".

However, Mr. Outerbridge left the bag unattended on "a nearby seating area" for most of the evening. This included the time he went to the loft to check on equipment before his DJ set.

"During that time his bag was still in the place where he had left it and he didn't have a regular eye on it," said Mr. Justice Greaves.

After three hours of deliberation the jury delivered a majority not guilty verdict. "You are free to leave the court," the judge told him.