Acquitted Gold Coast "gangster" Jade Lacey of murder.

Lacey, 25 and his brother Dionne Matthew Lacey, 23, had pleaded not guilty to murdering Kevin Palmer, 23, at a unit in Nerang on May 6, 2007.Supreme Court judge has ordered a jury to acquit Gold Coast "gangster" Jade Lacey of murder.The brothers had also pleaded not guilty to a charge each of unlawful wounding with intent to maim Mr Palmer.This morning, after legal argument between Crown prosecutors and the Lacey brothers' lawyers, Justice Glenn Martin told the jury as a "matter of law" they could not return a guilty verdict on the murder charge against Jade Lacey and the unlawful wounding charge against Dionne Lacey.The jury, as instructed, then returned a not guilty verdict on both charges. The case will continue with Jade Lacey still facing one charge of unlawful wounding with intent to maim Mr Palmer and Dionne Lacey facing one charge of murder.Shortly after the verdict, Jade Lacey took the witness stand to give evidence in his own defence.During the trial, the jury has heard the Lacey brothers arrived at the Nerang unit where Mr Palmer and a group of men were gathered armed with pistols. During an argument, Jade Lacey shot Mr Palmer once in the leg and Dionne Lacey fired a bullet into his chest, killing him.
The brothers admit to firing their guns but claim they were acting in self defence. On the witness stand, Jade Lacey said he noticed a pistol on the dining table of the unit when he first arrived.He told the court he went outside and returned when he heard an argument going on between others at the unit and his brother, Dionne. He said when he told everyone to ''calm down and no one will get hurt'' Mr Palmer ''just exploded'' and began advancing towards him and gesturing that he had a gun in a bum bag he was wearing."I kept walking back, I pointed my gun .. I thought maybe if I got my gun out I could have just left," Lacey testified."He (Kevin) put his hand into his bum bag and pulled a pistol out. He rushed forward, I pointed my gun downwards and fired a shot at the floor"I just wanted to make a big bang so I could get out of there quick."I thought he was going to kill me. I was scared as."One witness, Salih Gaziler, who was at the unit on the night of the shooting, told the court last week he believed Jade Lacey had shot Mr Palmer because Mr Palmer was shaping up to assault him at the unit."He didn't want to lose his image as a big-known gangster, getting bashed (by Kevin)," Mr Gaziler said.