Jury gets lesson in ballistics

The jury in the murder trial of Barataria handyman Roger Alexander got a lesson yesterday on firing a pistol by National Security ballistic expert, Derrick Sanker. Sanker, also an attorney-at-law,  told the jury in the Port-of-Spain First Criminal Court that if a firearm, such as a 9mm pistol, is discharged in someone’s pocket, either accidentally or deliberately, the person in whose pocket the pistol went off is expected to feel a “kick” from the pistol on the leg and the hand, if that hand is on the gun when it went off. Five men — Garvin Sookram aka “Bean,” John Wayne Alleyne aka “Bumbles,” Junior Sookram aka “Country,” Hassan Sanchez and Ronald Gaskin aka “Doom,” are before Justice Rajendra Narine charged with the murder of Alexander aka “One Arm,” on August 19, 2000 in Barataria. In earlier testimony, one of the prosecution’s key witnesses, Komo George, said he was unaware that his 9mm pistol had accidentally gone off in his pocket.

He said the only time he realised what had happened was sometime later when he felt a burning sensation on his leg. In his evidence, Sanker suggested that it would be enigmatic for someone not to be aware that a pistol went off in his pocket. He also explained that it was not likely that the person in whose pocket the gun went off would receive burns from the explosion if the skin was separated from the explosion by a material, and other circumstances such as the position of the gun at the time of firing. However, it would singe the bare skin, he stated. Defence attorney Pamela Elder SC,  questioned Sanker about the possibilities of finding gunpowder residue on the hands and clothing of a person firing a gun. He explained that it all depended on how early after the firing of the weapon the clothing or hands were tested for residue. Hearing resumes today.