After saying these words, Anthony Ferguson shook the hand of the young man that had been accused of the murder, Dwight Francis, 24, of a Pen Road address, as he walked out of Justice Adolph Lucas?s courtroom a free man. Anthony wished Francis the best in life. Francis had been on remand for almost two years. The other person who had been charged in connection with the murder is said to have fled to the United States. A jury of 8 men and 4 women deliberated for about 3 hours yesterday, Tuesday, before it handed down a not guilty verdict for murder for Francis. The court hearing began last week Monday, on April 18. The incident had reportedly taken place on the Central American Boulevard, in front of Archie?s Restaurant. Ferguson died six days later, on September 27, sometime around 2:20 a.m. A female witness testified under oath on behalf of the deceased, saying that she observed Francis and Ferguson having a conversation on the culvert, opposite Archie?s Restaurant, known as North Creek or ?Dogg Pound? (a hangout spot for a Southside gang), about ten minutes before the actual incident. She said that she was certain that it was Francis, as she knows him very well. The witness, however, gave two separate testimonies, and Justice Lucas told the jury that they could consider her testimony as evasive, or untruthful. In the earlier part of the morning, the witness said that she was standing at the corner of Central American Boulevard, which is about 30-35 feet away from Archie?s restaurant, when she heard shots being fired. She said that she was unable to see who was firing the shots, explaining that as the firing began, people began crowding the scene. She even added that one of her cousins, who was standing at the corner of the street with her, ran towards the scene. The witness said that she then ran home. In the latter part of the day, the witness, under cross-examination, said that she saw Francis, over the next side in front of Archie?s, pull the trigger of a handgun, firing a single shot as he stood over Ferguson, who was lying face up on the ground. Senior Crown Counsel, Marjorie Moyston, asked the witness why she said that she did not see the accused in the morning, and was now saying that she saw him clearly as he pulled the trigger, but she gave no reply.
