The trial of a man accused of the murder of 18-year-old Jason Lightbourne began this week, with prosecutors saying the killing was revenge for an assault that took place hours earlier.

Prince Barrington Edness, 28, has denied a charge of premeditated murder in connection to the death of Mr Lightbourne, who was fatally shot while driving along Ord Road in the early hours of July 23, 2006.

According to the Crown, Mr Edness worked with others not before the courts to carry out the killing including Akil Williams, who died several weeks after the shooting of Mr Lightbourne.

The court heard that Mr Lightbourne was driving in a car with some friends when a motorcycle ridden by two men pulled alongside the car. The pillion passenger then opened fire into the car, shooting Mr Lightbourne in the head.

The car crashed into a nearby wall and, while the passengers fled the damaged vehicle, the shooters sped away from the scene.

As the trial began yesterday, Director of Public Prosecutions Rory Field told the jury that the shooting was linked to a rivalry between a group of young men from the Princess Street/Court Street area and another group from the Ord Road area.

He said that in the hours before the shooting, a young man linked to the Court Street group was admitted to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital after an attack.

“He had been cut and stabbed,” Mr Field said. “A crowd of supporters from the area descended on KEMH. They were angry about what happened and some talked about revenge.

“A hit was ordered on someone. We don’t suggest it was anyone in particular, but someone from up on Ord Road.”

Mr Field told the court that Mr Williams and another person who left the hospital to commit the revenge attack. He said there was no reason why Mr Lightbourne would be specifically targeted, saying he was merely a young man unlucky enough to be riding a car in the area when the killers came.

“Prince Edness was seen to return to KEMH at around 4.30am with Akil Williams on the back of the motorcycle,” Mr Field said. “Something was said to suggest that revenge was carried out and everything was OK.”

He told the court that Mr Edness was questioned by police about the shooting in 2006, at which point he told officers that he had arrived at the hospital just before 4am, around the time that the shooting took place.

However, Mr Field said the defendant subsequently told someone that he had been involved in the killing and that witness told police what he had heard.

Mr Field emphasised that Mr Edness did not have to be the one who pulled the trigger to be guilty of the murder, explaining that he can be convicted if it is proven that he aided or assisted the killers.

A witness, who cannot be identified because of a reporting restriction, told the court that in 2006 her son had been friends with Mr Edness and other members of a local gang.

On the evening of the shooting, she said that she was at home when her son walked in, bleeding profusely and unable to speak. She told the court that he had been attacked outside of the home with a machete. She said that she got her son into a car as soon as possible and drove him to the hospital.

She said that she was joined at the hospital by a number of her son’s friends, including Mr Edness and Jahkeil Samuels, who she described as the leader of the group.

The witness testified that Mr Samuels spoke to her outside the hospital, saying: “I will take care of it. I will deal with this.”

She said Mr Samuels then spoke to others in the group, including Mr Edness, made a phone call, and spoke to Mr Edness again. While she said she could not hear what was said, Mr Edness then left the area on his motorcycle. Mr Edness later returned with Mr Williams on the back of his bike, but not before after an ambulance left the hospital with its sirens on.

The witness told the court she could not remember if Mr Edness or the ambulance returned first, but she said once Mr Edness returned to the hospital, he spoke with Mr Samuels. Mr Samuels then approached the witness, telling her: “It’s been taken care of.”

Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Marc Daniels, she accepted that she did not give a statement about the incident to police until this year. She also agreed that in the statement she said that her son was stabbed at about 9pm or 10pm, while hospital records indicated that he arrived at KEMH at 2.45am.

However she maintained that Mr Edness had left the hospital and returned to the hospital, and while she accepted she might not remember the exact words used by Mr Samuels, she knew their meaning.

She said: “I’m not stupid. I didn’t misconstrue anything.”

The court also heard read-in evidence from an Ord Road resident, who told police she had heard a series of gunshots outside her home shortly after 4am. She said that she got out of bed and looked through her blinds, at which point she saw a large cloud of smoke and smelled gunpowder.

Another witness said in a statement that he was in the area when he heard a five gunshots, followed by what sounded like a crash. Moments later, he said he saw a black motorcycle with two riders travelling east along Ord Road at high speed.

He said he then ran to Ord Road, where he saw a white sedan on the side of the road with smoke pouring out of it. He said that the car had struck a wall, the engine was still running and the wheels were burning rubber.

The witness said he ran to the car, where he saw Mr Lightbourne motionless in the driver’s seat with his foot on the pedal. He attempted to shake him, but received no response. The witness said he then turned off the car and threw the keys over a nearby wall.

The trial continues.

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