Leslie Ashton acquitted of Sean Clouden’s murder

Being convicted of possession of 11 rounds of ammunition must be the least of Leslie Ashton’s worries right now.{{more}}

He was recently acquitted of a murder charge.

Last Thursday, December 17, 2009, after nearly three hours of deliberation, a 12-member jury came to the conclusion that Ashton was not the man who shot Sean Clouden.

They returned a unanimous decision of not guilty, shortly after 6 p.m.

Ashton was charged with the October 10, 2008, murder of Edinboro resident Sean Clouden near to a popular nightclub in San Souci.

During her summation, presiding Judge Gertel Thom pointed out several inconsistencies in the prosecution’s evidence led under oath.

Thom made note of the evidence by the prosecution’s main witness Valdine Caine. Caine noted that she had come out of the club when she saw three men with Hoodie Jackets and bandanas over their faces.

Caine said that she was purchasing something to eat when the three men walked in front of her.

The young woman told the court that the man standing in the middle was the triggerman, whom she said was Ashton. She also said that she saw the shooter fire two shots to Clouden’s head while she hid behind a car.

Caine added that she saw the shooter make an attempt to run, but was caught by some persons in the area who beat him all about his body. She said Ashton was wearing an off-white plaid pants on the night of the shooting.

Police officers giving evidence at the trial noted that 11 rounds of .38 ammunition were discovered in Ashton’s pocket.

A post mortem report stated that Ashton died from six bullet wounds about his body.

However, Thom in her summation noted that a photograph that was taken of Ashton that night, which appeared in one the local newspapers, showed that Ashton was wearing a pair of black Dinkies Trousers.

Justice Thom also underscored several inconsistencies in the evidence of the 11 police officers called to the stand to give evidence.

In a failed no-case submission earlier in the trial, defence attorney Kay Bacchus-Browne noted that Ashton was the wrong person. She said that he wasn’t found with a gun and that Caine gave conflicting evidence. “I am submitting that this witness has a bad memory and she can’t recall completely what happened that night,” Bacchus-Browne stated.

Ashton was remanded pending sentencing on the 11 rounds of ammunition found in his pocket on the night of his arrest.