Wakima Lettsome as he was about to enter the Magistrate's court at a previous appearance. Photo: VINO/File

Lettsome is accused of the attempted murder of then 27-year-old Jonathan Colaire, allegedly committed on November 18, 2011. He is represented by attorney Stephen Daniels.

Senior Crown Counsel Valston Graham led the witness in the prosecution’s case as the VC related events leading up to the alleged incident and gave a detailed description of what happened on the evening of the shooting.

Colaire, who currently resides at Chalwell Estate, said he was a part time trucker and at the time of the shooting incident was living with his mother in Huntum’s Ghut. He related that he knew the defendant for a few years prior as ‘tall boy’ and they would ‘hail’ each other from time to time.

The VC told the court that on the day in question, it was around 9. PM. when he was in the ‘ghetto’ in Crabbe Lot and saw a school friend of his named Corey, who he became engaged in conversation with during which time the incident began to unfold.

He told the court that while he was in conversation with Core, he heard an outburst from the defendant, “When we were talking a little while I heard an outburst from Wakima,” he said, “he asked ‘what do you want?… ”. He related that the defendant did not say it in an aggressive tone but demanded to know what the VC wanted or what he was there for.

During the outburst he told the defendant that he was ok and that “everything was safe and I didn’t want anything.” After this he said the defendant paused for a while and he continued speaking with his friend.

He further related that the area was well lit by light coming from the bars and lampposts in the area and he could clearly see the defendant clearly, who was dressed in a white t-shirt and short pants.

The VC explained that he was on an upper level and the defendant was about 6 feet below him at the time on a porch and the defendant was still trying to get his attention while he was talking and was trying to get the VC to focus on him.

The defendant allegedly responded by saying that the VC was “dissing him” which the VC denied doing. The defendant then allegedly came down some stairs, approached the VC from the side and said “you think you’re a bad man” or something like that, the VC related to the court.

He then allegedly started to point his finger at the VC's face and started chucking him in his chest and asked whether the VC wanted to do something. The VC then asked “what have I done to you?” while the defendant was also allegedly putting his hands in the VC’s face and almost choking him. The VC told the court that the defendant was trying to get the VC to fight back but he didn’t since he “didn’t want any problems”. This altercation lasted for approximately 10 minutes, according to him.

The defendant then allegedly said “I’m going to show you how bad I am” and left the area, running towards the direction of Rite Way while the VC stayed and continued to speak with his friend.

The court then heard that the defendant returned about 10-20 minutes later in different, darker clothing. He now allegedly wore a long sleeved dark coloured hoodie and came to within 5 feet of the VC, the court was told.

The VC saw him head down to his waist area and he allegedly “stepped out in front of [the VC] and pulled something from under his shirt and told [the VC] to take that in [his] mother’s [expletive]”. The VC said the defendant pointed the object straight to his chest from about 5 feet away as he did this.

Colaire explained that he heard an explosion and saw something that looked like “flames” that came from under the defendant’s hoodie. He then got up and demonstrated the action to the court and the jury in place.

After this happened the defendant allegedly ran and the VC also started to run and kept on running as well as he was trying to get away from the defendant and was in fear for his life. The VC told the court the he felt the defendant was going to “continue shooting [him]”.

He further related that he did not make it to his car as his feet started to 'give out' and he felt as if he was collapsing. There was a sudden sharp pain and he felt a swelling in his stomach. He then jumped over a fence and lay on his stomach trying to keep calm until help arrived. He was subsequently taken to Peebles Hospital by a group of friends and was treated and stabilised for a gunshot wound to his abdomen.

The VC said that the two men had a cordial relationship prior to the incident and earlier revealed that he even asked him several times about securing a job in the public sector where he believed the defendant was working.

The witness was subsequently cross examined by the defence lawyer Stephen Daniels after the prosecution had no further questions. The trial is continuing.