Gastown double-murder case goes to jury

A jury is considering the evidence in the murder trial of Imran Sharif, who is accused ofgoing on a shooting rampage outside adowntown Vancouvernightclub in January 2004 that left two people dead.

Sharif, 25, faces first-degree murder charges in connection with the deaths of23-year-old Rachel Davis and 24-year-old Richard Hui. Davis was the daughter of well-known Canadian actress Janet Wright.

It's believed Davis was being a Good Samaritan, shot in the head after trying to stop a stranger from being beaten up outside the Purple Onion nightclub.

Hui was also shot and killed that night. Five other people suffered gunshot wounds.

The Crown argued that Sharifopened fire on the crowd after a fight broke out between two groups of people outside the Gastown club.

Defence lawyer Terry La Liberte maintains thatSharif had nothing to do with the shooting and that he is being unjustly accused by his acquaintances.

He said those acquaintances lied and were not credible, citing their long criminal records, which included drug trafficking and manslaughter.

"There isn't any evidence except lying witnesses with motives," said La Liberte. "There isn't one fingerprint, there's not a bit of DNA."

In his instructions to the jury late Tuesday afternoon, the B.C. Supreme Court judge hearing the case warned the jury to carefully consider the credibility of those witnesses before rendering a verdict.

The trial lasted almost seven weeks.