R v Ramoon

• Jurisdiction: Cayman Islands
• Judge: Williams, Ag. J.
• Judgment Date: 06 April 2020
• Court: Grand Court (Cayman Islands)

R.

and

RAMOON

(Williams, Ag. J.)

GRAND CT. (Cayman Islands)

Evidence — expert evidence — fingerprint evidence

Held: The fingerprints on the shop counter and on the bag were those of the defendant, left by him during the course of the attempted robbery. The fingerprints were clear and the defence made no attempt to call expert evidence (R. v. Smith, [2011] EWCA Crim 1296, distinguished;R. v. Carillo-Perez, Ind. No. 89/08, July 26th, 2011, distinguished). The court accepted the expert evidence that the ACE-V method (Analysis; Comparison; Evaluation and Verification) was the fingerprint identification method used by the RCIPS. The court accepted and placed heavy reliance on the expert evidence of the fingerprint experts, finding their evidence to be reliable. The defendant was found guilty.

The defendant was charged with attempted robbery, contrary to s.242 of the Penal Code (2019 Revision). The offence was allegedly committed at a shop. The defendant, who was not wearing gloves, was alleged to have touched the shop counter and placed a plastic bag on the counter. Fingerprints were found on the counter and bag. A fingerprint expert employed by the RCIPS gave...