Chloe Aslett reports from Sheffield Crown Court as the jury is sent out of the murder trial over the death of local father, Kevin Pokuta.
The case so far...
The case so far...
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00:00In a murder trial almost one year on from the death of 19-year-old dad of two,
00:04Kevin Pakuta, the jury have been sent out to deliberate their verdict.
00:09Kevin was shot in front of his younger brother in the early hours of December 12,
00:132023, while they were sat in a car on Pagehall Road near their home.
00:17The prosecution argued that he was shot in a case of mistaken identity because the shooter
00:22believed the teenager was responsible for hitting one of their party with his car earlier in the
00:27night. They alleged that the group of defendants had been involved in an attempted robbery of a
00:32cannabis grow which went awry when the owners tried to defend it and knocked a member of the
00:36group, who was not seen in court, off of his e-bike. The prosecution argued that Kevin was
00:41shot by mistake as the shooter aimed to take revenge for the earlier incident but mistook
00:45his car for the same one. There are five defendants in the case with various charges and various
00:51combinations of charges against them. Jake Brown is accused of firing the fatal shot.
00:57He is pleaded not guilty to murder, attempted murder, attempting to cause GBH with intent,
01:03conspiracy to rob, possession of a firearm, two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to
01:08endanger life. He did not take the stand but his barristers argued to the jury that he cannot be
01:13confidently identified as the shooter. Leon Wraith and Lester Ramsey have both been cleared of murder,
01:19attempted murder, attempting to cause GBH with intent and one count of possession of a firearm
01:25with intent to endanger life. They are still each charged with possession of a firearm, possession
01:30of a firearm with intent to endanger life and conspiracy to rob and they deny all the charges
01:35against them. Those same charges stand against a 17 year old boy who is also pleaded not guilty
01:41and who cannot be named for legal reasons. Adam Mulligan is charged with conspiracy to rob and
01:46denies the charge. He took the stand to say he was paid £40 to do a favour, collecting something
01:52with his van and assumed he was picking up an e-bike and bike parts. He said he did not press
01:56for any further details. The jury went out on Tuesday the 29th of October and have as long as
02:02they need to deliberate their verdict.