12 murders, 10 sexual offences among 34 of 126 cases completed -January Demerara Criminal Assizes

Some 34 cases, including 12 for murder, one for attempted murder and 10 sexual offences, were disposed of during the January Demerara Criminal Assizes, which commenced in January with 126 matters.
Acting Chief Justice Navindra Singh; Justice Simone Morris, who presided over the Sexual Offences Court; Justice Hessaun Yassin; and Justice Gino Persaud presided over the assizes.

Of the 34 matters, 11 matters were deemed nolle prosequi by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), meaning they were dismissed by the state. Of the 11 matters, one was for the offence of murder in which the main witness declined to testify. The other 10 matters were for sexual offences in which the complainants did not wish to proceed with their evidence.
Of the 23 remaining matters, which involved 28 accused, six resulted in convictions, 10 in guilty pleas, five in formal verdicts of not guilty, six not guilty verdicts by jury, and one hung jury.
State Counsels Latifah Elliot, Abiola Lowe and Praneta Seeraj prosecuted the 10 matters in the Sexual Offences Court.
In three cases, the juries found the respective accused unanimously guilty; they were sentenced, respectively, to 20 years, 18 years and 24 years of imprisonment. Each was also ordered to undergo counselling while in prison.

In another three matters, the accused were all acquitted by jury verdicts of not guilty, and in two others, the complainants testified they did not wish to proceed with the evidence, and the trial judge directed the juries to return formal verdicts of not guilty.
In another matter, the accused pleaded guilty to the offence of rape and was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment after the court made deductions for the guilty plea and mitigating factors. He too was ordered to undergo counselling while in prison.
In one other matter, the accused, who was indicted on three counts, was remanded back to prison after his jury returned a hung verdict in the proportion of nine not guilty to three guilty on counts one and two but reached a majority verdict of ten not guilty to two guilty.
Of the 12 murders, five were before the Acting Chief Justice involving eight accused, four were before Justice Yassin, and three were before Justice Persaud. The chief justice also presided over the attempted murder case.

State Counsel Christopher Belfield and Geneva Wills presented the six matters before Chief Justice Navindra, which resulted in one no-case submission being upheld, five of the accused pleading guilty, one being found guilty by jury, and one case in which the jury was directed to return a formal verdict of not guilty after the State offered no evidence against the accused.
In the guilty verdict, the jury returned a majority verdict of 11 guilty to one not guilty for the lesser offence of manslaughter; sentencing of the accused was deferred to April 2026.
In another two, the accused both pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter; they were respectively sentenced to three years’ imprisonment and five years’ imprisonment after the court made deductions for their guilty pleas, show of remorse, favourable reports and the years spent on remand.
In one matter in which three accused were indicted together, two of them pleaded guilty to murder, with one sentenced to 32 years’ imprisonment and sentencing of the other deferred to April 15, 2026. The state offered no evidence against the third accused, and the jury was directed to return a formal verdict of not guilty.
In the one matter for the offence of attempting to commit murder, the accused entered a guilty plea and is awaiting sentencing.
State Counsel Joy Williams, Narisa Peterkin, Amya Manu and Rodley Mathoo completed the four murder matters before Justice Yassin.
In one of these, the main state witnesses testified in court they did not wish to give the evidence, and the trial judge directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty.
In the other three matters, the accused all pleaded guilty; one of them pleaded guilty as charged and was sentenced to life imprisonment with eligibility for parole after serving 17 years and six months. While the other two pleaded to the lesser offence of manslaughter. One was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. The Court recognised the other accused was a juvenile when he committed the crime and had spent 5 years and 6 months on remand. In its decision, the Court applied the provision of the Juvenile Justice Act 2018 and ruled that he had spent sufficient time incarcerated. He was placed on probation for three years under supervision by the Chief Probation Officer.
State Counsel Delon Fraser, Padma Dubraj and Mtumika Lumumba prosecuted the three murder matters before Justice Persaud.
In one matter, the accused pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter and was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment after the court made deductions for the guilty plea and mitigating factors.
In another, the accused was found guilty by his jury; his sentence has been deferred to April, 2026. And in the one other matter there were four accused who were indicted together; the jury found that the number one accused was unanimously guilty while they acquitted his three co-accused.