Man Freed of Gun Charges After Family Fails to Testify in Court

Leon Yorke, a forty-year-old former maintenance worker, is a free man after all criminal charges against him were dismissed.  Yorke was accused of aggravated assault with a firearm and discharging a firearm in public following an incident in August 2024 where he allegedly shot at family members during a dispute. Yorke appeared before Chief Magistrate Deborah Rogers for his trial today, but none of the victims were present. The prosecutor informed the court that without their testimony, the case could not proceed. The magistrate dismissed all charges. Outside the court, Yorke expressed his happiness, stating he can now go back to work. The charges stemmed from an August 23, 2024, incident on Berry Street, where police found ten expended shells. According to police, Yorke argued with his thirty-one-year-old sister, Asha Yorke, and later returned with a gun, firing shots at her, her three children, and her brother-in-law, twenty-six-year-old Kyle Allen. No one was injured. Yorke had pleaded not guilty to the charges, which also included aggravated assault with a firearm against his brother, Kareem Yorke.