During the cross examination of second defence counsel Sillah, the witness Francis Jatta told the court that the alleged pistol was recovered after 10 days in an open ground having been exposed to the rain and heat, saying that condition was not favourable to the DNA.
The witness explained that he met the accused, Ousainou Bojang, on the day they went to recover the pistol at Sukuta, adding that they found the pistol in two pieces and the cover was removed from the main body.
Asked by first defence lawyer counsel L.J. Darboe, whether he put the pistol together, the Forensic officer responded that they packed the two pieces of the pistol separately and sent them to the army for ballistic examination. He said the army assembled the pistol.
He further stated that they advised the army to leave the pistol as it was but the army assembled it based on their rules and regulations.
After the ballistic examination was done, the witness said reports were sent to them, adding that a report was done for the pistol and an analysis on the ammunition was done as well.
When asked which part of the pistol was separated, the witness said the sliced cover. However the gun was given to the witness in the witness box to show the court the part that was separated. He tried to separate or remove the part but could not.
Counsel Darboe put it to the witness that there was no sliced cover that could be separated from the gun but the witness confirmed that there was a sliced cover.
About the vehicle mentioned in the case that been parked and shot at on the day of the alleged incident at Sukuta Jabang Traffic Lights, the witness said the windscreen was broken by a bullet.
He said the vehicle was parked at the Sukuta Police Station and they requested for the vehicle to be reconstructed at the crime scene for a search, adding that the vehicle was later returned to the Sukuta Police Station.
Defence counsel Darboe asked if there were plans for the crime scene and the witness responded that there were plans and the plan document had features like restaurant, roundabout and other marks captured.
Counsel Darboe requested that the witness be given the plan to go through it and confirm whether it was the plan.
After the witness had gone through the document and confirmed, counsel Lamin J. Darboe sought to tender the crime scene management unit reports as a defence exhibit, and the presiding Judge, Justice E. Jaiteh, admitted and marked as exhibit D8 the crime scene report from pages 1-19.
