The Forensic Gauntlet: Three Defence KCs Expose CCTV Blind Spots, Phone Wipes And Shifting Statements By Jimmal Facey After He Obtained Government Protection From Attempted Murder Prosecutions

By Alric Lindsay

The Grand Court trial concerning the Centennial Towers attempted murder plot transformed into an unrelenting forensic gauntlet today, October 23, 2026, as three separate defence King’s Counsel launched a coordinated, sequential assault on the Crown’s star witness, Jimmal Facey.

Proceedings before the Hon. Justice Peters began with the continuation of yesterday’s cross-examination by Rhiannon Crimmins KC, followed immediately by a devastating timeline dissection from Brendon Kelly KC, before concluding with a blistering, evidence-backed confrontation by George Carter-Stephenson KC. Each advocate targeted a distinct pillar of the prosecution’s case, leaving Facey’s credibility fractured under the weight of objective digital records, financial data, and his own conflicting sworn statements.

For readers following the rapidly shifting dynamics in the Grand Court, the core battle lines drawn by the defence today can be summarised as follows:

Phase 1: Rhiannon Crimmins KC Proves Physical Impossibilities

Today’s session opened with Rhiannon Crimmins KC pinning Facey to fixed, unalterable real-time CCTV logs to demonstrate that his narrative regarding defendant Austin Crawford violates the physical realities of time and space.

Crimmins KC tracked Facey’s claims against real-time footage to prove that Facey was not present to witness the events he described under oath. While Facey insisted he watched Crawford’s early car park movements from a hidden vantage point, the real-time digital record told a completely different story:

Crimmins KC’s cross-examination established two critical points for the jury:

1. The Late Arrival: Facey and his alleged shooting associate arrived long after Crawford had left the Centennial Towers parking lot. Facey could not have seen Crawford’s early parking lot movements because Crawford was not physically there.
2. The Convenience Store Alibi: Facey claimed Crawford stayed to signal the shooters when the targets, Jiffon Robinson and Denver Bright, exited the Subway. Bright walked out first at 1:57:05 AM. Robinson walked out afterwards.  However, Crawford left the Centennial Towers parking lot at 1:54 AM and was captured on camera inside a convenience store at 1:57 AM.

Confronted with the fact that Crawford was inside a convenience store during the ambush, Facey deflected, claiming “it could have been anyone.”

Crimmins KC pressed further, saying, “The problem is that when you made up your evidence, you didn’t realise the camera time was wrong.  [The image you saw was not in real time]”

Facey responded, saying, “I didn’t make up anything. It could have been anyone.”

Crimmins KC put it to him directly: “Everything you said about Crawford is a lie, isn’t it?

Facey replied, “No, it is not a lie.”

Crimmins KC concluded by saying, “You made it up to fit into the CCTV footage you saw, didn’t you?

Facey replied, “I disagree with you.”

Phase 2: Brendon Kelly KC Exposes the Strategic Timing of the Loaded Gun

Following Crimmins KC, Brendon Kelly KC—counsel for Jamie Samuel Ebanks—addressed Facey. Kelly KC’s clear objective was to prove that Facey manipulated the justice system, withholding critical evidence about a deadly weapon until he successfully forced the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to shield him from a life sentence or something in the region of 25 years in prison.

Kelly KC introduced a paper trail of emails from early 2026 involving Facey’s then-attorney, Jonathan Hughes. The emails showed a desperate campaign to get the Crown to accept a lesser plea of possession of an imitation firearm to avoid a high prison term for attempted murder.  Responding to this, Facey said, “Anything to do with emails, I would have no knowledge of what [was] taking place [between Jonathan Hughes and the DPP].”

Kelly KC then gave a breakdown of the email correspondence as follows:

** March 31, 2025:  Kelly KC said that Jonathan Hughes informed the DPP that Facey’s matter was “listed this Friday for arraignment” and that he was “keen to make progress so that the client can move on.”

** Reportedly, Hughes added that the police no longer believed that Facey fired any shots and that a firearms charge against Facey would be “unsustainable.”

** Allegedly, Hughes then asked the DPP whether it could add a charge of possession of an imitation firearm with intent to endanger life.

** According to Kelly KC, what followed was that the DPP said it was “not in a position to accept the imitation firearm plea, but if Facey pleads guilty to counts 3 and 4, we may be able to accept that as opposed to attempted murder.”

** Facey then pleaded guilty to count 4, which was possession of an unlicensed firearm on the basis set out in Facey’s witness statement.

Kelly KC reminded Facey of the terms of the immunity agreement, highlighting that it was conditional upon Facey attending court and giving a testimony consistent with his witness statement.

When Facey was asked in court whether he knew that these were the rules, Facey replied, “Yes.”

Facey having acknowledged that he was aware of the rules, Kelly KC asked Facey whether he was scared of saying something in court which was inconsistent with his witness statement, which could result in him losing his immunity from prosecution.

Facey replied, “No, I am not afraid.”

Kelly KC asked the question a different way, saying: “Do you care about your evidence being different from your witness statement?”

Facey said, “I care about everything.”

Regarding the gun inconsistencies, Kelly KC illustrated Facey’s different versions of the gun’s origin:

** First, in April 2025, Facey told police that Jamie Ebanks gave him and an associate two guns to use.  Reportedly, Facey added, “Jamie always had those guns on him.”  Facey added that the guns belonged to Jamie and Jamie’s brother.

** However, on January 31, 2026, Facey reportedly said something inconsistent, suggesting that Crawford had a gun.

** Kelly KC then asked Facey why he never mentioned Crawford in his first statement.

** Facey responded, saying that Jamie Ebanks would have had the .38 revolver in his pocket and collected the 9mm from Crawford before going to Centennial Towers.

When challenged by Kelly KC about the statements referring to Jamie Ebanks, Facey said, “I was telling the truth about where the gun came from.” Facey added that he might have difficulty explaining himself, but he was “100% sure” he got the gun from Jamie Ebanks.

Kelly KC then told Facey directly: “We do not accept a single word you say about Jamie Ebanks about guns.”

Facey replied: “I understand what you are trying to say.”

Kelly KC doubled down, saying that Jamie Ebanks played no part in the incident, to which Facey repeated his previous answer, “I understand what you are trying to say.”

Seeking to establish that Facey was a habitual liar, Kelly KC said:  “In the past, where you chose to lie, you did lie, [didn’t you]?

Facey said, “Yes, sir.”

Phase 3: Carter Stephenson KC Smashes Alibis and Vehicle Assertions

The final leg of today’s triple-header saw George Carter-Stephenson KC, counsel for Dabian Ebanks, systematically break down Facey’s claims regarding mobile phones, getaway logistics, and his layout of the crime scene.

Carter-Stephenson KC aimed to prove three distinct points: that Facey deliberately wiped data to conceal his own communications, that he fabricated a bizarre physical defence when caught on camera, and that his mapping of co-defendants was completely unreliable.

• The Dresser Alibi & Factory Resets: Facey claimed that, on operational orders, he left his white and black iPhones at home on a dresser to create a false digital footprint. However, Carter-Stephenson suggested under cross-examination that Facey subsequently wiped the white iPhone completely back to factory settings.  In response to this, Facey claimed it was a phone he “would never use.”
• The Magnum Bottle Defence: Carter-Stephenson KC produced a forensic CCTV storyboard showing Facey with a large, undeniable bulge protruding from his right back pocket. When Carter-Stephenson KC challenged him that this was the very phone he claimed was at home, Facey gave a startling answer: he asserted the bulge was a glass bottle of Magnum tonic wine, kept in his back pocket. Facey added that anyone would do this to “keep their hands free.”
• Knowledge of Dabian Ebanks: When asked in court how long he knew Dabian Ebanks, Facey said, “All of my life, I would know him, see him… I could identify him by the way he walk, slouch…”  However, Carter-Stephenson KC pointed out that in the January 2026 police interview, Facey said he knew Dabian Ebanks for a couple of years.  Struck by the inconsistent statements, Facey offered an explanation: “Couple of years to me means a whole lot of time…mean say, I would have known him for more than one year.”

As to the location of Dabian Ebanks, Carter-Stephenson told the court that, according to cell towers, Dabian Ebanks was in Camana Bay at the time.  Carter-Stephenson added that Facey was walking along the road and Dabian Ebanks gave him a lift.  Facey responded, saying that Dabian told him what to say about how Facey ended up in Dabian’s vehicle.

• Structural Vehicle Errors: Carter-Stephenson KC forced Facey to admit that his previous formal assertions placing co-defendant Jared Johnson inside Jamie’s gold vehicle were a complete fabrication, which Facey dismissed as an “honest mistake.” When asked when he realised he made an honest mistake, Facey said, “If I had a guess…it would have been… probably say when I sit down and analyse what took place… but I can’t give a date.”
• Blind Spot Concessions: Under intense questioning regarding how he knew a specific camera was not working, Facey said, “If it was working, it would have been presented in the interview… they would have shown stills of me putting a mask on and committing the act.”

Carter-Stephenson then questioned Facey about his version of events that, after the shooting, he saw Crawford chase down Jiffon Robinson as he headed to the West Bay police station.  Carter-Stephenson asked Facey how he could have seen so many things happening simultaneously. Facey said that before he ran off, he would have seen Jiffon Robinson’s car going around the corner and he could see this from the roadside.

Having heard Facey’s changing account, Carter-Stephenson said directly, “You just lie about everything, don’t you?”

Facey responded: “No, sir.”

Summary for the Jury

By the close of today’s proceedings, the defence had collectively presented a devastating case of witness compromise. The jury is now left with an undeniable legal reality: Facey’s immunity is strictly conditional upon absolute truthfulness. With three different KCs proving material omissions, physical impossibilities, and calculated phone wipes, the foundation of the Crown’s star witness has been severely fractured.

The trial continues on October 26, 2026, before Hon. Justice Peters.