As he stood in the dock of the No. 2 Supreme Court this morning, Hakeem Roberto Stuart admitted that while he lied to police about some details, he was not the person who gunned down Damian Trotman in Sheraton Mall two years ago.In an unsworn statement from the dock, Stuart maintained his innocence saying he had never been convicted of any criminal offence and was not responsible for shooting Trotman.Stuart, 24, of Shelbourne Gap, St Lawrence, Christ Church, is accused of murdering Trotman on March 21, 2019.In recounting much of what he said in his statement to police, he told the 12-member jury that on the day Trotman was killed he visited the popular Christ Church mall with his father. He was wearing a red shirt, red pants and red shoes.He said after leaving the mall and meeting a man he knew as ‘Pile’ to buy some “weed”, he called his friend Aziza to pick him up.“While in the Briar Hall area I called Aziza and asked her to collect me. Before I began to smoke I took off my shirt because I knew that smoke clings to clothing, especially my shirt, when I smoke. I also knew that Aziza’s child suffers from asthma so I did this to avoid any arguments about my smoking habits with Aziza again,” he said.
