2 accused plead not guilty to killing mall owner in 2015

Two men accused of killing the owner of the popular Regent Multiplex Mall on Regent Street, Georgetown have each pleaded not guilty to the capital offence of murder on Thursday when they appeared before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall at the Demerara High Court.

Lennox Roberts, 36, formerly of Tuschen Housing Scheme, East Bank Essequibo, and Kurt Erskine, 39, formerly of Grove, East Bank Demerara, face a joint charge which states that on July 5, 2015, in the county of Demerara, they murdered 48-year-old Ganesh Ramlall during the course/furtherance of a robbery.
Roberts and Erskine will go on trial from Monday. Attorneys-at-Law Lyndon Amsterdam and George Thomas are representing Erskine and Roberts respectively. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has granted a fiat to Attorneys-at-Law Konyo Sandiford and Narissa Leander to prosecute the matter on behalf of the State.

25-year-old Faizal Bacchus, formerly of Cornelia Ida, West Coast Demerara, who has also been charged with Ganesh Ramall’s murder, has pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter, and will be sentenced on Monday. He will also be testifying on behalf of the prosecution. His lawyer is Mark Conway.
Ganesh Ramlall, a father of one, was shot five times about his body, including once to his head, just after midnight on July 5, 2015.
Reports are that the businessman, with friends, had just returned home from a barbeque when he proceeded to use an outdoor bathroom on his premises.

As he walked into his yard, he was pounced upon by four men, who opened fire on him. His wife raised an alarm, and neighbours fired shots at the bandits, but the men managed to escape with Ganesh Ramlall’s jewellery and wallet.
The injured man was rushed to the West Demerara Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival, and his relatives quickly posted a $5 million reward for anyone with information regarding his killing.
Shortly after, Police raided a house in Craig, EBD, where Bacchus and Roberts, along with several others, were arrested.

When interrogated, the two men reportedly confessed to the murder of the business owner, and reportedly implicated Erskine. It was reported that the men had hatched a plot to rob the mall owner two months prior to his demise.