NASSAU, BAHAMAS-The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council has dismissed a man’s appeal seeking to have convictions for three counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life overturned. The Court of Appeal had previously rejected the request to challenge 2016 trial convictions, which followed a 2012 armed robbery at Scotiabank in Stella Maris, Long Island.
Deon Watson and another individual were accused of storming the bank on May 31, 2012, firing shots while demanding cash. The robbers escaped with $5,000, and Watson was arrested shortly afterward on a Boston Whaler. Watson was acquitted of the bank robbery, but he was convicted of three counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment following a trial in 2016. The Court of Appeal affirmed his convictions in 2020.
The appeal argued that the convictions were unsafe because the trial judge failed to instruct the jury that an acquittal on the armed robbery charges should have led to acquittals on the firearm counts.
The Privy Council rejected these arguments, concluding that the jury had properly considered each count separately. It found no inconsistency in the verdicts, noting that the jury was entitled to rely on the caution statement and eyewitness testimony to establish Watson’s personal involvement in the firearm offenses, while acquitting on other counts.
The Board also dismissed claims that the jury should have been directed regarding a “joint venture” with the co-accused, emphasizing that such matters were for the jury to determine. The appeal was ultimately dismissed, upholding both the convictions and sentences imposed in 2016.
