MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Lawyers representing Patrick Thompson, the licensed firearm holder who is accused of killing two women and injuring three others in February, are questioning how critical pieces of video evidence have gone “missing”.

The query was raised during a bail application for Thompson by his attorneys King’s Counsel Peter Champagnie and Samoi Campbell two weeks after they requested to see Closed-circuit television footage reportedly captured during the incident on February 23.

“By no coincidence of all 13 videos the one to show the scene is missing,” Champagnie told the court. He added that the defence received the videos electronically on Tuesday evening.

The attorney’s comments came after the prosecution detailed the alleged circumstances of the incident.

The prosecution, in objecting to bail for Thompson, said based on statements the accused slapped three people in their faces during an altercation moments after his Nissan Skyline motor car had been hit by a Subaru motor vehicle during a candlelight vigil on Levy Lane, Nashville, in Mandeville.

The prosecution described Thompson as being boisterous, enraged, and aggressive.

The court was told that attempts were made to calm Thompson and that he shoved a woman and she retaliated by shoving him, at which point he drew his licensed firearm and opened fire hitting the five people.

The prosecution said it doesn’t believe Thompson is a fit candidate for bail as the charges against him are serious, and there was the likelihood of him absconding bail, committing further offences, interfering with witnesses and that it was also for his own safety.

According to the prosecution, Thompson “exhibited escalating violence” based on the “minor vehicle collision” and showed a “blatant disregard for human life”. The prosecution told the court that Thompson’s statement in which he said he was attacked by a group of people who tried to disarm him and his gun went off was contrary to evidence of the discharge of the firearm several times and deemed it as “reckless”.

Champagnie said there is no doubt that the allegations are serious, but pointed out that this client can take up residence “far beyond Manchester”.

Champagnie told the court that the witnesses identified by the prosecution gave conflicting statements and pointed to another witness who said he/she saw Thompson kneeling on the ground and then heard a loud explosion sounding like gunfire.

He said a second witness in a statement said people were on the ground as if they were tussling.

According to Champagnie, the suggestion by one witness that the incident played out like a scene from the wild west is contrary to two witnesses who said they saw Thompson on the ground.

He then pointed to a video clip where he said he saw a young man rushing to the scene, going up to the camera and placing something in his waist. He told the court that footage did show Thompson cursing expletives which he deemed as a natural reaction.

Champagnie, meanwhile, told the court that there is no evidence to suggest that Thompson is a flight risk and that he is a fit and proper candidate for bail.

He said the defence maintains its position that Thompson was attacked and provided a medical document and photographs showing chest injuries to his client following the incident.

Thompson was further remanded to reappear in court on April 14 when presiding judge Monique Harrison is expected to decide on the bail application.

During an interview outside the court, Champagnie said the absence of the video believed to show the shooting aspect of the incident was important for clarity.

“One has to be mindful at this particular stage, because the matter is before the court, not to say too much, but suffice to say that the clip that we believe would have been most useful for transparency purposes and the direction of this case. Unfortunately, we were not able to capture that,” he told journalists.

“Allow the court and allow the process to take its course. This should not be a case that is tried in the public’s domain. Yes, we appreciate the fact that there is public interest in the matter and persons ought to be aware or interested in knowing what is happening, but ultimately it is a matter for the court,” he added.

Thompson, otherwise called ‘Big T’ and ‘Thommo,’ an engineer of Levy Lane in Manchester, is charged with two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, two of counts wounding with intent, two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, two counts of assault at common law, two counts of possession of firearm and ammunition with intent to commit injury, using a firearm to commit a felony following the incident on Levy Lane on Sunday, February 23.

Those killed were identified as 42-year-old Stacy-Ann Mulgrave of Barnstable District, Manchester, and 46-year- old Ann-Marie Hanson of Caledonia Road, Manchester.

A police report said about midnight, Thompson was at a candlelight vigil when he and a man got into an argument over a motor vehicle collison. The argument escalated, causing a crowd. It is alleged that Thompson, who is a licensed firearms holder, opened gunfire at the crowd, hitting multiple persons before leaving the area. The injured persons were assisted to the hospital, where Mulgrave and Hanson were pronounced dead and the others admitted for treatment.