S.Ct. Crim. No.: 2010-0001

At a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of a number of charges stemming from a shooting on St. John. Appellant's convictions were affirmed on appeal, with the exception of his conviction for unauthorized possession of ammunition. Stevens v. People, 52 V.I. 294 (V.I. 2009). Following remand, Appellant filed a post-sentencing motion for a new trial, which the Superior Court denied. Appellant appeals that denial. Appellant argued that newly-discovered evidence demonstrated that the prosecution, in violation of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), deprived him of a fair trial by failing to disclose (1) an alleged agreement that the People's main witness was released early from prison in exchange for his testimony against Appellant at trial, (2) that the People placed this main witness in protective custody prior to Appellant's trial, and (3) certain police reports generated in an unrelated murder investigation which linked the People's main witness to the unrelated murder. Because (1) the newly discovered evidence does not establish the existence of an agreement between the People and its main witness whereby he would be released early from prison in exchange for his testimony, (2) the police reports generated from the unrelated murder investigation did not contain new information material to Appellant's prosecution, and (3) because the prosecution did not suppress the fact that its main witness had been placed in witness protection prior to trial, the Court holds that there was no Brady violation and Appellant was not denied a fair trial. Therefore, the Superior Court did not abuse its discretion in denying Appellant's motion for a new trial.